


Forgottenfamily

by PurpleColaTrickster



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Art, Digital Art, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Psychological Trauma, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 99,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22910338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleColaTrickster/pseuds/PurpleColaTrickster
Summary: (Takes place After Season 10) Lloyd was not expecting to go to sleep on the bounty and not wake up there. Yet it seems destiny has a funny way of working out, trapped in a strange place with a crazy man claiming to be his great uncle and one of his former enemies and new secrets being revealed to him, how will he handle this? Read to find out. P.S sorry I suck at descriptions*This work also exists on Fanfiction.Net also criticism is very welcome!*
Comments: 46
Kudos: 75





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any of Ninjago whatsoever only thing that belongs to me is my one O.C. that it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Criticism of all kinds is very welcome I am really hoping to keep improving as an author

This art is not mine it was done by an amazing artist on tumblr who goes by etchy-a-sketchy! BTW this is my oc Koso.

They really didn't mean for it to happen.

They just hadn't been careful enough, Kai and Jay especially. If they hadn't insisted on trying to tackle the bandit, perhaps the realm crystal would still be intact.

As it were though, the six ninja and the captured thief now stood around a pile of the broken crystal shards that had once been the realm crystal.

As the ninja began to bicker about whose fault it was Lloyd became lost in thought. Once again nobody listened to him and something like this happened. Just great! Lloyd swore it was like he was invisible, as if the title of leader was just that, a title an empty position with no authority at all, never mind the fact he had sacrificed about everything that was important to him to save Ninjago on multiple occasions, his childhood,father,...Harumi.

Yeah, what did it matter why listen to him, he was only the green ninja destined to bear the weight of all of. Ninjago on his back till the day he inevitably di-

"Okay then tell me Cole! Was it better the realm crystal to just break or be stolen and probably sold into the hands of some rich evil guy and be used against us again!" Jay yelled breaking Lloyd from his rampant thoughts.

The green ninja sighed before smirking at his friends usually bickering.

At least this little incident probably wouldn't have that big, if at all repercussions.

It wasn't like they hadn't tried to destroy this artifact before, the fact they kept it around this long baffled him to no end. Maybe this was actually for the best after all.

-Two weeks Later-

Lloyd had just finished brushing his teeth. His bed hadn't looked so alluring since after the final battle, as he entered his room.

Today had marked the end of their punishment that had consisted of nothing ,but training all day everyday for the last two weeks.

They had all thought this excessive even for, Wu and especially considering they had actually tried to destroy it before ,but according to Wu that was quote on quote 'a time of battle'

And that in 'times of peace'. Priceless artifacts that held amazing power were not to be handled so carelessly.

'Well, worst case scenario we couldn't travel to some other realm without travelers whoopty do. ' the green ninja thought as he lied down on his bed.

Lloyd realized he had become somewhat of a cynic recently. Most of the time he had to bite his tongue to keep from voicing his negative thoughts in front of the team. Well who cares anyway, if anything he had the right to feel this way with all the sh*t he'd been put through his whole life.

Lloyd sighed, it didn't matter, that was all in the past and he had his brothers to think of. They...they would always be there for him…..right?

Lloyd chose not to dwell on that for long as his exhausted body all ,but forced him to settle into a deep sleep.

Little did he know when he woke up he wouldn't be on the bounty.


	2. Chapter 1

Despite what he had previously believed when he was met with the sight of a massive vessel floating in the sky like something from a children's tale, it turned out getting aboard the ship required little to no effort and he would be lying if he said it was it difficult to sleek past it's many sleeping occupants.

He probably would have been able to get in and out under a second if it were not for the shadowed figure standing in front of him.

As he stepped closer to get a better look at his opponent's appearance he couldn't help ,but smirk, whoever this fool was his good years were definitely far behind him if his tired eyes and long white beard were anything to by.

As expected the old man took a painfully long time to eye him up and down before speaking.

"Hello may I ask who this unexpected visitor might be?"

A roll of his glowing green eyes was the only reply he was willing to offer him.

The senior's eyes narrowed as he continued speaking. "Not much of a talker I see ,well perhaps-"

The poor old idiot didn't even get to finish his sentence before the hilt of _his_ blade had been thrust against the senior's lower abdomen without mercy.

As he sinisterly stared down at his victim he let a fleeting sense of pity wash over him.

'Sorry ,but you were in the way.'

Afraid the senior might cause a commotion, he wasted no time in gracefully snapping the fingers of his right hand and then once the old man was incapacitated he unceremoniously let the fool fall to the ground with as much gentleness as a grundle.

Then with the little road block out of his way he quickly made his way to the last door at the end of the hallway…

The green ninja's bedroom.

From there the events that unfolded next felt like they happened in nothing more than a blur in his mind's eye. He didn't register his actions he just did them because he had been preparing for this day for sixty years.

It didn't take long for him to slide the door open without a sound.

It didn't take long to grab the boy from his bed without waking him up. An achievement he may have considered extraordinary had he not accomplished far greater feats before.

It didn't even take long to secure the boy on his back as he jumped out the window.

Everything appeared to be go so smoothly that it seemed like departing would be the only task that required any modicum of effort.

So without so much as a glance behind him, he began to start his trek.

_**Forgottenfamily** _

When Lloyd woke up, the first thing he felt was a cold breeze brushing against his pajama covered back causing him to shiver. Then before he could even fully register where he was exactly the green ninja quickly realized he was moving,...or rather being moved...

...

...

'AH! What the!' The blonde mentally screamed, jolted by the realization.

He had little time to process the information though because he soon became enraptured with the sight of the amazingly wide and tall mountain pass that lay before him. Then before he could have the chance to let the sight of his surroundings sink in he was very quickly hit with the awareness that someone was carrying him- if the strange unfamiliar figure holding him on it's back was anything to go by anyway.

Out of habit Lloyd began to struggle against the stranger's grip as his mind buzzed with a million and one questions.

This apparently got the person's attention because within the blink of an eye Lloyd suddenly found himself thrown off the figure's back and dangled over the edge of the path they had been traveling on.

Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates as he stared at the endless chasm below Lloyd gulped before turning his gaze back to his attacker.

What caught Lloyd's attention almost immediately was the long blade the stranger held in their left hand, as the blonde felt himself begin to sweat he quickly averted his gaze from the weapon in an effort to get his heart rate to slow down.

The stranger- whoever he was- appeared to be a man most likely in his thirties, his _very_ long hair was an ink black color, and his eyes were a color of green Lloyd had never seen in another human being before.

As the blonde's eyes traveled down, away from the man's face he saw his attacker's wardrobe consisted of a long white cape that kept most of the clothing beneath out of sight, save for the visible black bandages that covered his wrists. Then before the blonde could make any more quick observations he was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts by the man's voice.

"I do not appreciate brats like you making a fuss when I am _trying_ to get us across this narrow mountain range as safely as possible."

The man had a strange timber to his voice that didn't seem to match his appearance, but even stranger was his accent and speech, he sounded unlike any ninjagian the blonde had ever heard before. Beneath all that though there existed an obvious threat.

Lloyd continued to stare at the man in silence for a millisecond longer before he realized he might have to use his powers before whoever this was decided to do something less than pleasant.

However before he could think on that for long the man once again interrupted his thoughts by speaking.

"Don't." The man said quietly yet threateningly "While you were asleep I took the liberty of putting a vengestone bracelet around your right ankle, I'm surprised you haven't noticed by now, hmph maybe you're just a little slow green ninja."

Lloyd looked up to see to the man was right. There was a grey cuff resting on his right ankle.

Gulping only a little Lloyd spoke up.

"W-who-"

"Who am I?" The man cut him off. "Well I suppose it would be rude of me not to tell you since you asked so nicely, My name is Koso that's all you need to know for now."

"W-where are we?"

"We are currently on mountain boy, incased you haven't noticed?"

Lloyd grimaced at being referred to in such a childish manner.

"Why am I here?"

Koso snorted at the question before replying, "Why are you here? Well that will be answered shortly. Would have been answered by now ,but you had to go and cause this little detour, now listen well you are to remain perfectly still and not make a sound while I carry you is that clear?"

"..."

Koso huffed dropping Lloyd a few centimeters before catching him again by the end of his foot.

"I said is that clear?!"

Lloyd nodded his head nervously in reply.

The pair made it across the steep mountain range in relative silence.

When they had finally finished crossing it and had made it down to the meadow surrounded by forest on both sides. Once they had touched the grass the green ninja began to struggle again.

Koso noticing this huffed , clearly annoyed.

"What did I say about struggling?"

Now that they weren't on that steep mountain range anymore Lloyd felt more inclined to act a little rebellious against his captor.

"We're not on the mountain anymore put me down!"

The man ignored his request and instead resumed walking.

Lloyd continued his struggle in vain, until eventually he noticed they were in front of a small cottage.

He was surprised when Koso made his way inside. Of all the places he expected his kidnapper to take him a homely little cottage was not one of them.

Once the pair was inside, Koso wasted no time in making his way to a small bedroom at the end of the cottage's short hallway.

Looking around, Lloyd saw that the room was pretty bare save for the two twin beds that rested on either side.

Before the green ninja had much time to ponder anything though, Koso had grabbed him by the collar and lifted him from his back before setting him down on one of the twin beds.

Koso fixed him with a stern stern glare.."Now I, having to carry you this whole time am somewhat tired I think it would do both of us a world of good if you could behave and perhaps get some rest yourself, I'm sure you must be tired what with being carried the whole way." Koso said. sarcastically

Lloyd immediately shot to his feet.

"What? No, no okay you said you would explain why you kidnapped me."

Not to mention the fact it was Koso who had made him be carried the whole way.

The blacked haired man simply replied. "I said I would explain soon and I will for now you are to remain in this room until I say otherwise."

Before Lloyd could protest, the man had already disappeared out the door and shut it behind him.

When Lloyd tried to open it he found it was locked and no amount of his banging on it could get it to open.

Great Just Great! He was kidnapped and had no idea where he was or if help was on the way or not!

Frustrated Lloyd began to pace the room angerely when he noticed something.

The other bed had a person in it hidden beneath it's covers.

Lloyd's eyes widened as he slowly crept toward it.

Snaking a hand toward the covers he quietly pulled them back and when he could finally get a view of the person he shrieked.

"Morro!?"


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Criticism of all kinds will be welcome and appreciated

Lloyd nearly fell over as he stepped back from the frightening sight before him. There lay ,Morro in a human body!?

Apparently the blonde's screaming had woken him up too, because within seconds Morro's eyes flew open. The wind master looked frazzled and confused as his eyes wandered the small bedroom until they eventually noticed Lloyd. 

The look on his enemy's face could have rivaled that of an angry monkey as he shot off the bed and landed on his feet.  
"Lloyd?! What's going on?! Why are you here?!"  
Lloyd's shock had quickly turned to anger as he immediately broke into a figure of stance.  
"What do you mean how am I here, you're supposed to be dead."  
"Wait what?! I am dead! I-"

Morro cut himself off as he looked down at his now human body which was dressed in a grey pair of pants and shirt. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates before  
He looked back up at Lloyd with an accusatory glare.

"You brought me back?!"

Thoroughly confused, Lloyd dropped his fighting stance slightly. Looking Morro over he realized the former was wearing a vengestone cuff around his ankle as well. Narrowing his eyes Lloyd spat out harshly. "No Morro I didn't bring you back and I wouldn't want to, not in a million years."  
Morro grit his teeth as anger flashed in his eyes, he looked bout ready to attack the blond when the door to their room suddenly opened and in the doorway stood Koso. The older man looked annoyed as he surveyed the scene.  
"It appears the annoying brats are both awake now….. splendid." He said sharply. Before Lloyd could reply, Morro had already stepped in front of him glaring at the man accusatively. "Who the f*ck are you and why did you drag me here?!"

The lanky man's eyes if possible, managed to narrow even further than they already had, and in the blink of an eye he was standing right in front of Morro close enough that their noses were almost touching as he leaned down slightly to stare Morro in the eyes.  
The sound of a slap rang loud in the small room as Morro's head snapped to the side upon the impact.  
"I do NOT tolerate unruly tongues, nor petulant children trying to order me around," The man paused to straighten himself back to his full height. "It would do you a lot of good to drop that foul language in my presence for if you EVER talk like that again I'll-"

Morro didn't let Koso finish as he tried to lung at the older man full force. Koso didn't seem to care though, as he was able to easily side step the flying teenager and avoid his attack. Whirling around, Morro looked completely crazed with his furious eyes and red hand print very visible upon his pale skin. Lloyd watched in amazement as Morro attacked only to miss Koso again as the older man moved around the room in a flash. It went on like this for the next few minutes until Koso seemed to have had enough and grabbed Morro by his hair when he tried to lunge at him again.  
Koso took in a deep breath before standing straight, dangling the wind master a few inches off the floor.  
Morro struggled vigorously for a few seconds until Koso seeing that the black haired teenager would not tire himself out any time soon,shook him hard in order to get his attention as he spoke.

"Now now I'm really not in the mood for your little temper tantrum, either you calm down and behave like an adult or you can see why you really shouldn't try to vex me." Koso said quietly, though the threat was there.  
Morro seemed to regain some sense as he finally stopped struggling and allowed Koso to lower him to the floor.  
Satisfied that Morro had finally calmed down, Koso turned to Lloyd.  
"Now I believe you wanted to know why you're here isn't that right?"  
Before Lloyd could respond, Koso walked out the door as he spoke again,  
"Well before we discuss that I'm hungry , follow me."  
Lloyd looked over at Morro whose head was bent in shame and embarrassment. Swallowing slightly the green ninja began to walk out the bedroom door, with Morro following shortly after apprehensively.


	4. Chapter 3

Koso led the pair into a small kitchen at the front of the house. In the very center was a small dining table with three worn chairs. Lloyd vaguely smelled smoke and realized that upon the stove was a small skillet holding cooked fish.

Their kidnapper reacted immediately sprinting towards it and shutting the flames off.

"Well it looks like the fish is still edible, if you hooligans would sit down, I'd be happy to share." He said gesturing to the table. Lloyd looked at the man dumbfounded, never in his long line of kidnappings had he been taken by a man quite as strange as the one standing before him.

When neither teen moved Koso said in a low voice. "That wasn't a request you little brats sit down now or I'll make you wish you did."

Seeing no better option Lloyd decided to follow the man's instructions, while also looking at Morro briefly to see what the former ghost would do. Morro still hadn't lifted his head since the incident in the bedroom. Lloyd wondered if he would try to attack again just to try and gain some semblance of pride back.

However nothing like that happened for the wind master simply followed Lloyd's lead and sat down beside him.

The green ninja couldn't stop a shudder from going through him, though he tried his best to hide it from the former ghost beside him,to show weakness in front of Morro would be the worst mistake he could make right now.

Koso sat down with them a minute later passing both of the teenagers a plate with their own burnt fish to eat as well as two glasses of water.

Neither Lloyd nor Morro touched and instead settled on watching Koso neatly cut his before eating it, a piece at a time.

When the black haired man had finished and looked back up at his two unwilling house guests, Lloyd spoke,

"Okay you've eaten now tell me why you brought me here?" Lloyd had purposely only referred to himself to show Morro they were not allies.

Koso waited for a minute before replying.

"Very well since you asked so nicely I might as well just tell you, the first spinjitzu master as you refer to him, I'm his brother,..." Koso paused to see the two teenager's reactions.

While Morro looked at the black haired man skeptically, Lloyd simply burst out laughing.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ok ok now I understand I'm just dreaming aren't I hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Lloyd bellowed nearly falling out of his chair while Koso and Morro looked at him like

bewilderedly.

"I mean how else could you explain it, Morro's alive and you" Lloyd pointed at Koso, "Are just so crazy it's unreal hahahahah"

Koso frowned whilst also narrowing his eyes.

"I see you think this isn't real then huh?"

Before Lloyd could respond he felt the back of a hand fly against his cheek.

When he looked back Koso was already back in his seat.

"Tell me Lloyd Garmadon did that feel like a dream?"

"I-"

"Or did it feel like a dream two weeks ago when you broke the realm crystal in Hiroshi's labyrinth"

"I see now if you lot are done acting like children I shall continue, so yes I am the first spinjitzu master's brother, older brother too might I add, anyway It's really a long, long story ,but as I'm sure you're aware my brother made a crystal before he died yes? A crystal that has the power to open portals to other realms?

Well children you may be surprised to learn that the realm crystal as you call it, was really just an element encasing crystal my brother used to take my element away from me and seal it away in his tomb for all eternity that is after he killed me when I tried to get it back."

Lloyd and Morro stared at the black haired man in skeptic shock before he continued,

"Oh ,but my brother wasn't as clever as he thought he was for you see I also happened to dabble in a little thing called sorcery and managed to cast a spell on that rock so that if it were to ever break I would be brought back to life." Koso paused again to take a sip of his water.

"Now as I'm sure you two are wondering what this has to do with you,...well you see I cannot wield my elemental power of travel anymore because…..you two have already inherited it."

Lloyd and Morro immediately jumped from their seats each pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"What?!"


	5. Chapter 4

Morro didn't know what to do or feel when those words left the Koso's mouth. He looked to Lloyd and noticed the green ninja was absolutely fuming.

"Ok if this is some sort of joke it isn't very funny."

"I assure you this is not a jest great nephew." Koso said calmly.

"Do not call me that, look it doesn't even make sense two people cannot wield the same element at the same time!"

Koso sighed, "Is that what my brother's taught you? Listen dumb great nephew, of course elemental master's can wield the same element, it's just very rare, mainly because my brother thought it would be a good idea to start taking people's elemental power and store them away in crystals , so that only one person could posses one element at a time."

"Ok then answer this!" Lloyd pointed at Morro, "How could I possibly be related to him"

Koso's eyes narrowed and he suddenly looked very forlorn, "I honestly don't know, but I do know he most definitely is because when I cast that spell on the realm crystal so long ago I specifically made it to bring me and anyone else capable of wielding my element back to the world of the living,if this boy could not do it he would not be standing before you now."

Morro felt their eyes on him as they talked, never in his life had he wanted to die again and go to the departed realm more than right now.

Lloyd meanwhile shook with anger at the sheer ridiculousness of this whole situation, he had to take deep breaths to calm himself before he exploded.

"Fine, let's say I believe you great uncle Koso ,that still doesn't explain why you decided to kidnap me!"

Koso smirked in reply. "Well haven't you figured it out already boy, I'm going to train you both to use my element."

Morro's head shot up at the sound of that and immediately looked to Lloyd who blanched in response.

"What?! No okay I am not letting you train me"

"Oh yes you will, I stayed dead for a 60 years the least I can get in return for my suffering is one final way to spite my dead brother!"

"Listen you crazy old man I will not let you train me!"

Koso looked at the two of them sternly before suddenly his face lit up as if he had just come up with an amazing idea.

"Very well if it pains you so much defeat me in battle and I'll let you go."

Lloyd eyed him suspiciously "Will you take off this?" He asked, gesturing to his cuffed foot.

Koso nodded, "Certainly I wouldn't want us taking part in an unfair duel, deal?" Koso reached out his hand for the blond to shake. Lloyd stared at the black haired man dumbfoundedly, before grinning wickedly and shaking his hand.

"Deal."

Forgottenfamily

Lloyd tried to anaylize Koso the best he could while the black haired male, led the two teenagers far away from the cottage and deep into the woods. The older man was fast that much Lloyd was sure of, but Koso didn't look particularly strong, so if he could just land a hit on the man he was sure he would be able to win. They kept walking through the forest in silence until they came across a clearing, that was when Koso abruptly stopped in front of them with his back turned.

Lloyd and Morro both looked at each other in confusion when all of the sudden a sudden snap broke the silence. The green ninja looked down at his ankle to see his vengestone cuff had been broken off and now rested on the ground.

Koso turned around to face the pair, his face unreadable as he pointed to Morro.

"You go stand by that tree over there and wait for us to finish."

Morro looked dejected at the floor not moving in the slightest. Koso's face turned Stern as he spoke again, "Now."

Lloyd really thought Morro would refuse ,but then much to his surprise the former ghost obeyed, muttering something incoherently as he did so.

When Morro was safely out of the way Koso spoke again as he turned to face Lloyd.

"Well c'mon now fight me. I'll let you have the first hit, oh and if you try to run away on your little dragon of yours you'll be sorry."

Lloyd thought of trying it anyway, after all why should follow his kidnapper's orders, but the green ninja figured it would be best to defeat this guy now ,rather than have to put up with him later. So Lloyd simply nodded to Koso and got into a fighting stance.

Koso said he could have the first hit, so if he could just hit the guy with his energy sphere it would all be over and done with. Charging his energy ball in his hands, Lloyd immediately sprinted right at the black haired male who stood still patiently, as if he wasn't even in a fight. 'Arrogant idiot' Lloyd thought to himself as he jumped into the air and raised his energy sphere and brought it straight down upon Koso.

Ching

Lloyd suddenly felt a giant force throwing him back, he was lucky to land on his feet.

When the green ninja looked up he was immediately filled with shock for there Koso, stood with his sword drawn standing in the exact place he had been when Lloyd tried to attack.

Lloyd gaped as the black haired male smirked whilst sheathing his sword again.

"Well I have to say Lloyd I'm a little disappointed, I was expecting a little more from the green ninja ,but not to worry I'll teach how to really fight, starting now." Koso said whilst he sprinted towards Lloyd at god like speed

"Lesson one do NOT underestimate your opponent, ever!" Koso used the butt of his sword's hilt to slam into Lloyd's sternum throwing him back, and this time instead of landing on his feet Lloyd ended up colliding face first with the nearest tree. The green ninja groaned as he tried to move ,but for some reason found that he couldn't. Lloyd began to panic when he heard Koso speak again.

"You can take five great nephew while I see what this one is capable of."

Hearing this Morro looked up to see Koso point at him while also snapping his fingers. Immediately upon doing so the cuff on Morro's leg broke in half and fell onto the ground.

Morro stared at it and then looked up at the older man perplexedly. Koso frowned when he didn't see the wind master attacking.

Well….. I'm waiting."

Morro still didn't move.

"C'mon surely you can be more of a challenge than Golden boy over here."

"..."

"What? Afraid you can't do better than the mighty green ninja?"

"..."

"Now-"

Once again that day Morro had cut him off. The wind master blew a giant gust of wind towards Koso, all his rage and hatred infused with it , creating a giant vortex of angry wind.

Koso, immediately leapt away from the danger and jumped onto a nearby tree.

With an animalistic yell, Morro threw the winds towards the tree. However as he did so, Koso had already jumped from the tree as it fell backwards and with the hilt of his sword landed a fierce blow onto the wind master's head, whilst simultaneously kneeing Morro in the gut and throwing him back to land in the dirt. Koso stood up straight after and eyed the fallen tree before turning to Morro.

"Hmmmmm looks like you need as much work as my idiot great nephew." He said with a shrug.

Meanwhile Morro was seething in the grass as pain shot throughout his whole body, he didn't understand why though it was only two hits why did they hurt so much, he wasn't this weak. Koso seeing this sighed as he walked over to the writhing teenager.

"I see perhaps I hit a little too hard, well it looks like it's about to rain anyway, we'll had back today and start training in the morning."

While saying this Koso bent down and picked Morro up and threw him over his shoulder before going to Lloyd who still lay paralyzed against the tree he had been thrown against earlier. The green ninja looked up at the black haired man fearfully. Koso frowned before snapping his fingers again and Lloyd immediately had control over his body again and shot to his feet, regretting it slightly as his whole body began to burn from the strain. The green ninja looked angrily at the older man.

"Don't look at me like that, I couldn't have you sneaking off while I fought this one" Koso gestured to Morro with his free hand. "Besides I hit you just as hard you wouldn't be able to make it two feet before you'd collapse the pain, now c'mon." As he said this Koso reached down and grabbed Lloyd's collar before he could run away and threw the green ninja over his other shoulder.

Lloyd tried to struggle ,but strangely as soon as he did exhaustion weighed down on him and he couldn't even keep his eyes open.

Making sure both teenagers were secure on his back Koso began to walk back to the cottage thankful that he had remembered how to perform a sleep spell.


	6. Chapter 5

"Alright c'mon, both of you wake up."

Lloyd's eyes shot open to see Koso leaning over him shaking his shoulder. Morro was next to him waking up as well, and when the green ninja looked at his surroundings he realized they were both lying on a couch. When Lloyd tried to stand up, Koso put a hand to his chest and pushed him back down.

"Now now ,stay down you're still too weak from our little lesson earlier, here drink this." The older man said handing him a strange looking red drink in a small glass bottle. Lloyd eyed it warily.

"What is this?"

"Medicine boy, and if you don't drink it you'll be in a world of pain."

Lloyd doubted it, sure that the man was bluffing. That was until he suddenly felt like his gut had been spearheaded with the sharpest sword imaginable, unable to process anything,but the burning pain ,Lloyd decided whatever the man was planning couldn't be worse than this pain and downed the drink as fast as possible. Unsurprisingly it didn't taste exactly right, however as soon as he ingested it Lloyd found his pain had somehow disappeared and he felt fine.

Koso, seemingly satisfied that Lloyd had done as instructed for the first time without complaint, turned to Morro offering the boy a drink as well ,only this one was green.

"Since I hit you twice, I had to brew a stronger potion ,it should do the trick."

Morro eyed the bottle suspiciously, through his painful writhing , before definitely turning his head away the best he could. Koso frowned perplexed, before he spoke in a firm voice.

"Boy you are going to drink this now, whether you do it obediently and save yourself a sliver of dignity is up to you."

When Morro refused to turn around Koso sighed.

"I suppose you just prefer doing things the hard way."

Before Morro could process what the man had said, Koso grabbed Morro by the hair and lifted the boy up shoving the bottle to his mouth, whilst tilting his head back. When the wind master tried to spit it out after he took the bottle away, Koso simply put his hand over the former ghost's mouth and used his other hand to pinch Morro's nose.

"Now if you want to breath you best swallow boy."

Morro looked completely enraged at the man as he began to turn blue. When Lloyd was sure the wind master would suffocate Morro finally gave in and swallowed. Removing his hands Koso spoke.

"Now was that so hard?"

If looks could kill Koso would be dying a thousand deaths right there. Morro was enraged even if he did feel alot better. Before the former ghost could say anything though, Koso had dismissed him.

"Now that that's taken care of," Koso pointed a long bony finger at the both of them.

"You two smell awful, I almost couldn't carry you here I was so tempted to leave you in the forest just to get away from your horrible scent." Koso took a deep breath to calm himself from his rant .

"You both need a bath is what I am saying."

Lloyd and Morro both gaped at the man.

"Are you serious?!"

"I _am not_ bathing or doing anything else you tell me to ,you f***in-" for the second time that day Morro was cut off by a slap to his face. Koso stared him down sternly.

"I believe I told you what happens when you speak such vulgar language in front of me did I not"

"Shut up! YOU-"

Koso slapped him again.

Morro looked murderous growling under his breath as Koso narrowed his eyes.

"I also told you about disrespecting me did I not?"

"I-"

Koso aimed his hand up again appearing to be about to slap again Morro flinched back as Koso spoke.

"Did I?"

Morro lowered his head shame clearly displayed on his his hand print covered face.

"Yes."

"Good at least you remember that, now Morro remember this for me, _you_ DO NOT get to break my rules unless you wish to reap the consequences."

When Morro didn't talk back, Koso seemed to be satisfied as he spoke again.

"Ok now, you two. bath. now."

Lloyd reeled back perplexedly.

"Wait are you really serious!?"

"Yes you two stink."

Before Lloyd could reply , the older man snapped his fingers and suddenly he,Morro, and Koso were in a cave, and behind them was a shimmering pool of crystal clear blue water coming from a small waterfall on the far side of the cave.

Lloyd stared at it in awe for a few seconds when he realized something….

He and Morro were only wearing their boxers.

Letting out a terrified scream both Morro and Lloyd jumped back away from each other and Koso as both refused to look at one another.

Koso raised an eyebrow at the two.

"What? You're only in your underwear, it's not like you haven't seen yourselves like this in a mirror."

Lloyd shook his head, hands covering his ears.

"No no no stop talking please stop talking!" He shouted while Morro had turned around and refused to show his face.

Koso rolled his eyes at the two before throwing a purple block at Lloyd. Catching it, the green ninja realized it was soap. Koso also dropped a pile of grey clothes onto the ground before them.

"You both get in the water and clean up when you're done get dressed, and call for me, and don't even think of escaping this cave has no exits or entrances you're trapped here." With that Koso disappeared into thin air leaving Morro and Lloyd alone together.

Morro still hadn't turned around and for that Lloyd was happy. Looking around the cave Lloyd saw that Koso was right no exits. The green ninja then eyed the pool of water wondering what to do.

Koso had defeated him, with one blow no less, either this _was_ a dream or he really had just met the first spinjitzu master's brother. If that were true then would he really have any chance of escape?

As Lloyd stood there pondering Morro finally decided to speak up.

"You're a coward you know."

"..."

"Just going along with what he says cause you're afraid of a little magic, pathetic."

" _Sigh_ If I'm so pathetic why is it you can't win against him either."

"I-"

"Maybe because you couldn't win against me!"

"..."

"Or maybe you like getting pushed around, getting a taste of your own medicine"

"..."

"Or maybe-"

All of the sudden. Lloyd was being tackled into the water.

The two wrestled wildly Morro kept harshly tugging on Lloyd's wrist while Lloyd resorted to pulling Morro's hair as hard as he could.

They went on like this a little while longer until they both were being pulled apart and hauled out of the water by their hair.

Koso looked down at them both deep scowl painted on his face.

"I _thought_ I told you two to bath not try to drown each other."

Lloyd looked at Morro

"It was his-"

"His what? His fault? I don't care. I ordered you two to get clean and instead of that you're both playing around like a bunch of toddlers!"

Lloyd looked down, refusing to speak back for fear of _something_ happening to him. Morro couldn't get himself to say anything as he finally realized he was in water! Water that had burned him so many times before, it was so strange to be able to stand in it without fear of harm. He became so transfixed on it he almost didn't hear Koso's next words.

Koso huffed." Fine, if you two are too irresponsible…."

Trailing off the older man raised his hand which held the purple bar of soap from earlier and before Lloyd or Morro could respond Koso dunked both of their heads into the water and began furiously scrubbing their hair.

The two teens struggled under the water for twenty seconds until Koso finally let them up for air…..

…..For two seconds before they were dunked again and let up three seconds later. As Koso continued to scrub their face, arms, and legs until they were squeaky clean. Then dunked them underwater again to rinse off the soap.

Morro and Lloyd both spluttered as they came up. Koso rolled his eyes as he walked away and got up out of the water and beckoned the two to follow him. Lloyd and Morro both looked at each other skeptically before reluctantly following.

Once they were all out of the water, Koso turned to them whilst snapping his fingers, immediately after he did so, Lloyd and Morro both found that they were completely dry and fully clothed in the grey clothes he had left with them earlier. Koso's clothes were also now completely dry. What kind of magic was this man even using?

Lloyd stared perplexedly at the strange clothes ,while they weren't uncomfortable they did feel strangely light compared to the heavy green ninja gi he was so used to wearing.

Before the blond could question Koso about what he had done with his clothes though, the older man had already snapped his fingers again and the trio were back in the same cottage from before.

Lloyd vaguely noticed on the table was a freshly cooked meal of grilled chicken and what looked like asparagus.

Koso nodded towards the table."As you can see while you two were fooling about I prepared dinner, I expect you both to eat and be quiet and thankful that I am allowing you to do so after such abhorrent behavior." As he spoke Koso took his see at the far end of the small table like earlier and gestured for Lloyd and Morro to sit down.

However neither teenager moved, both as tense as a tightly strung violin.

Koso didn't seem to notice though,(either that or he didn't care) and simply spoke again.

"You two _do know_ what I am capable of yes? I'd prefer not to have to beat you two all the time ,but if you insist…"

Before the older man could act upon that threat however both Lloyd and Morro reluctantly sat down and ate their food in complete silence. When they were finished, Koso stood up from the table, taking both of their plates and dumping them into the sink beside them. Once that was taken care of he turned back to the pair. With his amazing speed Koso leapt across the room and grabbed the two of them by their collars and dragged them into the two bedded bedroom from earlier and quickly dropped each of them on their separate bed before walking to the door saying,

"Now, you'll be getting up plenty early tomorrow, best you both go to bed now."

Morro and Lloyd both shot up from their beds angry looks on their faces.

"What?! A bedtime are you serious old man?!"

"No I am not sleeping here! I don't care about if what you said about being my grand uncle was true or not I-"

Before Lloyd could finish Koso narrowed his eyes as he stepped towards Lloyd menacingly.

"And _I_ don't care if you like it or not great nephew! You will be here as long as I want you here understand?"

Lloyd shook his head in defiance, "No! I don't understand! I want to go home! I want-" Lloyd was cut off as Koso's hand made contact with his face once again.

"Calm yourself boy you sound pathetic."

Koso eyed the green ninja sternly whilst Lloyd finally realized he had started to tear up as the salty liquid drops cascaded down his cheeks.

No one said a word, not even Morro who gaped at the blond in shock. The only sound was Lloyd's hiccuping as he tried to calm himself down.

It was Koso who eventually broke the strained silence.

"Oh c'mon now, stop getting yourself worked up like this it's so unbecoming of the _green ninja_ now isn't it?"

Lloyd didn't respond for a couple of minutes, until finally he was able to choke out,

"P-please I can't sleep i-in the same room as _him_ " Lloyd nodded towards Morro, who glanced away and suddenly had a vast interest in staring at the floor.

Koso frowned seemingly considering what Lloyd was saying as he spoke his next words carefully.

"I see you _are_ former enemies that much I can tell, you must truly fear that he will attack you while you sleep isn't that right great nephew?" Before Lloyd could respond Koso continued. "Well no matter I have the perfect solution." As he spoke Koso snapped his fingers and Morro and Lloyd both fell to the ground unable to move in the slightest.

"There now neither of you can do anything to the other."

The green ninja gasped as he laid there paralyzed along side Morro who looked absolutely furious.

Koso didn't seem to care though and simply hefted both teenagers into his arms before depositing each of them unto their beds and surprisingly tucking the covers of the bed over them, almost gently.

Lloyd and Morro stared at man in embarrassment and shock as he headed towards the doorway.

"Sleep well you two have a long day tomorrow" With that Koso shut the door, leaving them in complete darkness.


	7. Chapter 6

Nya and Kai stared at the bounty screen perplexedly. Where could he be?! They had searched everywhere in Ninjago, no sight of Lloyd or anyone matching the description of the mysterious stranger who knocked Sensei Wu unconscious. Thankfully the old Sensei had woken up two hours ago and told them about the guy who attacked him. Sensei had said he had no idea who this guy could be, that he had moved so fast, it was unlike anything he had seen before.

Kai had been especially angry at the lack of results and the knowledge that all he could do at the moment was seethe at the screen that showed only six tracker signals(including Pixal who had joined the search earlier) Was Lloyd's broken? Was he deep underground somewhere, Kai didn't want to even entertain the idea he could be dead.

Suddenly the red ninja was interrupted from his thoughts when Jay's voice came through the intercom.

"Hey guys, uh so I was just double checking Tiroshi Str. you know that place where that old tea shop Wu likes is located and well…..just I need everyone down here pronto!"

Kai and Nya looked at each other in confusion, before rushing out the door and jumping off the bounty to form their dragons.

Koso must have been insane to think Lloyd would sleep at all throughout the night. He needed to keep his eyes open, to watch out for Morro, who was turned to the wall so Lloyd really didn't know if he was awake as well.

This whole situation was amazingly surreal, first this crazy guy says he's his great uncle and that he's going to be trained to control some other element. It couldn't possibly true…,but then again, Koso was able to deflect his energy blast, in Lloyd's long career as honorary green ninja he had only ever seen two other people able to do that and they were his father and the overlord. Lloyd swallowed shakily at the bad memories those names brought with them. Lloyd had to shake his head to stop from sinking back into those dark thoughts. Regardless whether Koso was actually his great uncle doesn't matter what mattered was tomorrow and using any opportunity he could to find a way to message the bounty and get help.

Another thing that plagued Lloyd's mind was the unknown amount of power Koso possibly possessed.

Did he really deflect his energy that easily or did it actually take a lot out of him? He had easily taken down Morro without showing the slightest hint of exhaustion so maybe not.

Could it be that sword he was always carrying? The older man hadn't not used the weapon once during his short fight with him or Morro.

Lloyd looked over and narrowed his eyes at Morro, _and remember to keep an eye on him Lloyd, you let him take advantage of you once ,but never ever again!_

All night Lloyd stayed awake planning his next moves carefully, he almost didn't even realize when it became morning until Koso had burst into the room at the crack of dawn.

"Good morning! Sleep well?"

Koso received no reply from either boy ,still he continued anyway,

"I see, well time to get up you lazy mongrels daylight's burning!" With that the older man snapped his fingers and both teenagers could move their bodies again. Lloyd immediately shot to his feet and straightened up to his full height out of habit from so many mornings of sunrise exercise on the bounty.

Morro did the exact opposite, he got out of bed ,but he did so groggily and slow and contrast to Lloyd slouched down some making him appear shorter than the green ninja.

Lloyd and Koso both eyed Morro, weirded out by the change in demeanor of the arrogant wind master,though neither said anything out loud.

There was a short silent pause before Koso spoke again.

"Hmph well if you'll be kind enough to follow me." Koso said as he walked out the door beckoning the teenagers along. Lloyd followed along obediently, whilst also eyeing Morro who walked behind him.

Koso quickly led the two teenagers to the kitchen, where on the table rested three wooden spoons and three glasses of water a giant pot of what appeared to be oatmeal rested on the stove. Lloyd eyed it warily. While Koso's last two meals were pretty edible , the green ninja was not particularly fond of oatmeal even when it was served with the utmost perfection. Koso either didn't notice the scowl painted on the green ninja's face or just didn't care, and quickly spoke once again,

"C'mon quit standing there like a couple of buffoons and sit down."

Wanting to get on Koso's good side in hopes he would drop information on where they were, Lloyd quietly obeyed and took a seat at the table. Morro surprisingly obeyed as well and sat down beside the green ninja.

Lloyd watched as Koso served himself and them a bowl of the ugly brown mush, before taking a seat at the table himself.

Morro stared at his meal for a second, before picking up his wooden spoon and munching on the oatmeal mechanically without complaint.( His flippant attitude was really starting to freak Lloyd out)

The green ninja on the other hand prodded and marveled at the ugliness of his food without actually putting any of it into his mouth. Koso seemed to notice because he sent a very Stern glare Lloyd's way clearly saying 'eat the food or I'll shove it down your throat'.

Though Lloyd was definitely not scared of the older man who was currently holding him captive in a, he still reluctantly obeyed picking up a small spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth.

It didn't taste as bad as he remembered ,but it still wasn't pleasant. Seeing Koso was still staring at him, Lloyd sighed and began taking a second spoonful and then another and another until before he knew it his bowl was empty.

When Lloyd looked up again he noticed Koso and Morro had just finished as well, and within the span of a few seconds Koso stood up and swiftly grabbed the three bowls and sat them in the sink and turning back to them.

"You'll clean these later, we don't have time right now because of this one's little fit" The older man glared at Lloyd who tried his best not to point out that he had finished the stupid oatmeal the same time they had. Arguing with the crazy man would be pointless. After a second of silence Koso began walking out the front door gesturing Morro and Lloyd to follow "Ok follow me"

"Where are we going?" Lloyd asked.

"To the training field."

"Training?!"

"Yes, that's what I said, are you dense or could you not hear me through that floppy hair of yours."

"Ok enough! I'm not sure if you understand this ,but I'm not staying here any longer than I have to, and I'm definitely not letting you train me!" Lloyd annocened crossing his arms defiantly.

Koso narrowed his eyes as he replied

"And I'm not quite sure if you understand that, _I_ can and _will_ train you however I like lest we forget the amount of times I've had to hit that little lesson into you."

Lloyd gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Look you can't just kidnap me and bring to the middle of nowhere, and expect me to just go along with this crazy bullsh*t!".

"And yet here we are." Koso replied casually.

At that moment Lloyd wanted to strangle the man, but wisely decided to avoid eye contact instead as he lowered his head to glare at the floor.

"Well now if you don't have anything else to complain about follow me _please_ "

Neither Morro nor Lloyd looked at each other as they followed along silently out the cottage and into the forest. They walked a good few miles before stopping when they came upon the same clearing they had fought in yesterday.

Koso turned back to the two teenagers, looking at them skeptically as he unsheathed the sword on his back.

"Well let's get started shall we?"

_ForgottenFamily_

When Nya and Kai had made it to the tea shop they were shocked at the sight that met them.

The shop was destroyed, the structure of the building completely ripped apart, remnants of tea jars and boxes laid scattered everywhere.

Kai turned to Nya.

"What happened here?!"

"I don't know this place is completely destroyed what could have done th-"

"Hey guys over here!" Jay,Cole, and Zane yelled running up to the two siblings.

"What's going on here?" Kai asked hurriedly.

"We…... aren't sure, it was like this when we arrived" Zane explained.

"Maybe it has something to do with Lloyd." Cole said.

Jay spoke up "None of this makes any sense how could our leader being kidnapped and a tea shop being torn to shreds be connect-"

"Ninja!"

The colorfully dressed teenagers turned to see a small boy maybe seven or eight years old, with Auburn hair and round glasses standing before them. He was in tears.

Kai, casting a side glance at others in confusion, stooped down to the child's level.

"Hey kid, what's the problem?"

"I-I…...you have to find her!"

"Whoa whoa find who?" Kai said trying to calm the boy.

"G-grandma, she was just closing the shop when…..w-when…"

"Okay okay kid take a deep breath," the boy obeyed Kai's instruction "good now let it out." The child let out a ragged sounding breath.

" Now, can you tell us your name kiddo?" Kai asked gently.

"Nathan." The boy answered.

"Okay, Nathan can you tell us what happened here?"

"I-I h-had finished h-helping with the t-tea sorting and was on my w-way home, b-but I forgot m-my hoodie, and I went back to get it ,b-but when I got t-there….."

_Flashback_

_Nathan was about to run right up to his grandma as she was about to lock the shop doors when, suddenly a man in a white hat and cape jumped from out of the shadows right behind her._

_Nathan stopped his running, just a few feet from the shop, as he watched the man tap his grandmother on the shoulder. The old woman didn't even flinch at the contact, however when she turned to face the man, her face took on a look of pure horrified shock and she was unable to speak._

_From his hidden spot beneath the shadows , Nathan could see the man smirk as he began to speak._

_"Hello Greta, my my it appears life has been fairing well for you these past sixty years, it is a shame you lost your immortality though I must say you look fine for your age, not a day over 106"_

_"K-k….Koso?!" The woman finally breathed out, "H-how are yo-"_

_"Alive? Well what good would learning sorcerery all those years ago do me, if I couldn't bring myself back from the dead from time to time?"_

_"But why? What have you come here for?!"_

_The man's fake gleeful face quickly changed, to something far more threatening looking._

_"What have I come here for? Well Greta, I'm here for quite a few things actually, the first of which is simply, answers."_

_"Koso-"_

_"You see Greta when I crawled from my grave that my brother oh so kindly decided to put in his own tomb the first thing I did, aside from shouting profanities at my brother's corpse was take notice that, that the wretched remains of the crystal he used to take my powers from me, was nowhere to be found. The next logical course of action I took was use my magic capabilities to locate the heir of my elemental power and you want to know what I found?" Nathan watched the mysterious man pause. Grandma Greta didn't utter a word. The man continued_

_"I found that there were in fact two heirs, that little blonde twerp everyone can't stop fawning about and another young boy, with a peculiar green stripe in his hair, who my curse took part in resurrecting." The man paused again, gauging at Nathan's Grandma's reaction. The old woman stared at the ground refusing to make eye contact as the man continued_

_"Now tell me dear Greta, who else do you recall having a green stripe in their hair?"_

_"Koso I'm sorry I didn't know she was pregnant with a child , until I found a letter one morning telling me she ran off. I looked everywhere for her ,but she wasn't anywhere to be foun-"_

_"I ASKED OF YOU ONE SIMPLE TASK AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN FULFILL IT!" The man shouted as his face twisted into an angry grimace._

_"KOSO! She wasn't the same after you passed, she wouldn't talk to me!"_

_The man, Koso, looked at the old woman pure hatred reflected in his eyes._

_"She was my daughter and it was your job to look after her and you failed me…." Koso paused taking a breath to calm himself down._

_"However I will do my best to rectify this soon enough, see Greta , another thing I require of you is, some what did you call it travelers tea."_

_Nathan watched as his grandmother's head shot up so fast he was afraid she would break her neck._

_"Koso whatever you are planning will only-"_

_"You have no right to judge my actions Greta, not after you not only failed to keep my daughter safe ,but then proceeded to use my stolen powers to make that little travelers tea of yours"_

_"..."_

_"Oh, did you really believe I wouldn't find out about that little business practice of yours, sailing to my brother's tomb once every 10 years and shaving off just a tiny piece of that wretched crystal, so you could make a tea that would accomplish that of the realm crystal, just in much smaller fractions at a time. How very clever of you"_

_.Nathan couldn't believe what was going on, who in the world was this man, and what was he saying about their tea?!_

_Grandma Greta looked as pale as the moon as she tried to splutter a response._

_"Koso…..I-I didn't…...I'm sorry, but I was afraid that someday Ninjago would need the powers of the realm crystal, I was only-"_

_"Only what? Do you think yourself noble? If so, then please explain to me why, my daughter's son was sent to the cursed realm!"_

_"Koso, I told you, Elizabeth ran off, I couldn't find her and if I could I would have made sure her child was cared for I swear!"_

_"ENOUGH!" Koso shouted exasperated. Nathan started to wonder if he should approach when Koso spoke again._

_"I don't care about your excuses, you can make them to me for all of eternity,but it doesn't change the fact you failed me, and now that I'm back , I plan to take one last attempt to spite my brother's legacy. Greta, I need that travelers tea and since you seem so opposed to hand it over I'll have to threaten force…"_

_"Koso think about what you're doing?! You don't belong here, you were meant to stay in the departed realm!"_

_Koso reached behind him and pulled out a long silver sword._

_"So be it"_

_End of flashback_

"...and t-then b-before I could do anything t-the scary man, h-he just tore the shop a-apart nd I-I didn't even t-try to s-stop him! I'm just a b-big coward!" The boy said tearing up.

The ninja all looked at each other in shock. The description of the man who attacked Wu matched almost perfectly. Could that mean….

Kai immediately turned back to the sobbing child.

"Hey hey kiddo it's okay you didn't do anything wrong Nathan. In fact you just helped us a lot by telling us this. Now can you help us out some more and tell us what happened after that man, you said his name was Koso, destroyed this shop"

Sniffling the last of his tears away Nathan replied.

"Y-yeah. Uh after the shop came crashing down, Koso ordered G-grandma to tell him where, the travelers tea, was. I guess he somehow knew she didn't keep it in the shop anymore, since everyone started r-requesting it so much. A-and t-then Grandma she took him t-to the storage place across the street where we k-keep all the extra tea and then they walked inside. K-koso came out with the last box of travelers tea we had ,b-but Grandma didn't and when I went to look for her in there I couldn't find her anywhere! W-what if he k-killed h-her oh it's all my fault!"

The boy began to cry again, as Kai tried fruitlessly to soothe him, as a single question plagued the fire ninja's mind

' _what the f*ck is going on here?!'_


	8. Chapter 7

Greta watched from afar on a hilltop as her dear grandchild cried his little heart out to the ninja. Guilt seized through her entire being, as she watched the pitiful scene.

_'forgive me Nathan, Grandma just has some things to take care of, things the ninja didn't need to know about, not yet'_

Forgottenfamily

Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the scene before him in complete perplexedness. Koso, using the hilt of his blade, drew a large circle in the dirt around him and Morro, who seemed equally confused as well, though only slightly, since he seemed to have given up on caring about anything for the time being. Once the circle was complete, Koso stepped in as well. Lloyd decided now be a good time to actually ask what they were going to do exactly, "so….what do you want us to do?" He asked.

Koso looked at Lloyd, with a sinister glint in his eyes as he smiled wickedly.

"Glad you asked, for today we are going to do a simple exercise, you two are to stay inside the circle till I tell you to get out, if you decide to disobey me, well we wouldn't want a repeat of yesterday now would we ... ?" Koso asked innocently as he stepped outside the drawn barriers of the dirt circle.

Lloyd and Morro both eyed the crazy man strangely. However once again the green ninja was the first and only to speak up,

"Is this a joke? That's it? I don't understand, how is this supposed to make us summon some, hidden elemental power we somehow never knew we had?" Lloyd asked skeptically.

"Oh my apologies, then I guess I was wrong this whole time and everything I did up till now including rising from the grave was for nothing." Koso remarked sarcastically as he tilted his head to the side mockingly. "Yes I suppose I should just send you two brats on your way- oh ,but I'm afraid I can't do that, and you know why?" The sorcerer paused to look both teenagers in the eye forebodingly, before continuing. "If my clever great nephew had let me finish, I would have been able to inform him that it doesn't matter if you didn't know you had possession of my old element in the past because, at the time it was sealed in that cursed little crystal my brother had stored away in his tomb."

Lloyd sighed, clearly annoyed. "Are you done?"

"Yes!, now if there are no more questions we can begin now." Koso explained sarcastically happily as he began to walk off.

"Wait you're just gonna leave us here!"

Looking over his shoulder at the shouting green ninja, Koso smirked.

"Yes ,but remember, step outside that circle and you'll be crashing into another tree."

Lloyd was basically fuming as he watched the crazy man walk away and disappear into the shrubbery they had emerged from earlier.

Morro, on the other hand simply slouched down a little more than he already was and let out a loud sigh.

Hearing it, Lloyd spun back around and watched as the former ghost did nothing ,but stare at the ground uselessly

"Okay, I'll bite what's going on with you?"

"..."

"Not gonna say anything, really?"

"..."

"Ok fine, never mind."

Despite that, Lloyd had to admit seeing the wind master like this, looking so defeated and uncaring did creep him…..just a little though. After all, anything was better than the maniacal spirit ,who had taken control of his body, his mind, and made him fight against the people he loved most with the intent to kill them. Not to mention his fath-no! No no no! He shouldn't think about that right now, that didn't matter! The loving dad he had known before was gone and there was no getting him back no matter how much he wanted to. Lloyd then decided it was most likely best if he focused on trying to find an escape rather than seethe on old painful memories.

Eyeing the circle, Lloyd briefly wondered if Koso had put a magic barrier of sorts to keep them in, he certainly seemed powerful enough. However he also made it clear, if either of them were to step out of the circle, they would be on the business end of his sword again. The green ninja also considered that perhaps it was just a farce to scare them.

Eyeing the line in the dirt, Lloyd decided to test a theory and kneeled down before very carefully stretched his pinky finger over the line.

When at first nothing happened the green ninja considered making a run for it ,but before he could so much as stand up, a long shadow looked over him and Lloyd looked up he was met with the menacing narrowed eyes of his kidnapper.

"Ahem, dear great nephew I hope you weren't trying anything foolish just now."

Swallowing both his fear and pride Lloyd responded in a timid voice. "Sorry I was just doing some stretching I didn't even realize my hand came over the line."

Koso's eyes narrowed as he regarded the blond boy.

"Hmm likewise, well do be more careful next time please." With that the dark haired male once again walked off.

Once he was out of sight, Lloyd stood back up, before turning around to find Morro staring at him, the ghost of a smirk still present on his lips.

Slightly embarrassed and a little angry at having to be around his former tormenter in a small space, Lloyd couldn't stop himself from lashing out via walking up to the former ghost and giving him a light shove to the side, showing the wind master he wasn't in control anymore than Lloyd was.

The former ghost narrowed his eyes at the blond, as he quickly caught his footing before he accidentally fell over the line. Then he did something that kind of surprised the green ninja, he spoke.

"Well isn't surprising _,_ the _green ninja_ isn't so immune to anger as he pretends to be."

Lloyd rolled his eyes at the comment. "Well look at that, he speaks! Are you finally done sulking?"

"I wasn't sulking!"

"Yeah ok, sure."

"I wasn't, I just didn't see the point in talking, _you_ certainly didn't seem to mind."

"Oh I'm sorry,did you want me just act like you were somebody I'd never met before, you, the person who possessed me, kept me locked in a cage, almost starved me a couple times, oh and let's not forget was also responsible for trying all of Ninjago into the cursed realm all because he wasn't given some stupid green gi!"

Morro's eyes squeezed themselves shut, as Lloyd finished his rant. The wind around them started to pick up slightly. It looked as if they were both about to be swept up in a newly created tornado ,but then as suddenly as the wind picked up it died down again and Morro opened his eyes again whilst taking several deep breaths.

"I…I.." it was clear the wind master was struggling to speak, as if words were like lead on his tongue "...it doesn't….. matter anymore anyway, I'm not angry anymore about that, I've moved on."

Lloyd couldn't stop the fury bubbling up inside him at those words, after everything Morro had put him through, even being responsible for his dad's death, he still had the f*cking nerve to act like he was the victim! Like he was the one who had to fight to move on, to live with himself everyday and pray and beg that he doesn't screw up and loose even more family than he already had, or wonder if he had any real family to begin with, anyone who didn't just stick around him, because he was the f*cking green ninja!

Lloyd became so lost in his angry thoughts he didn't realize his fist was raised, until suddenly it came crashing down onto Morro's face.


	9. Chapter 8

In the split second his fist made contact with Morro's face, Lloyd immediately regretted his decision, because as soon as the hit landed, the Morro that had been slouching lazily only a moment ago was gone and in his place was the Morro Lloyd remembered.

The green ninja could only look on in horror as Morro broke into his familiar enraged scowl while he probed the part of his face where Lloyd's punch had landed.

"You little f*cker!" The wind master yelled as he lunged towards the green ninja.

Thankfully Lloyd was able to dodge and jump to the other end of the dirt circle before he began to charge a small energy ball in warning. Morro paid it no mind however, as he crazily smirked while saying, "Oh, you think that will scare me you little sh*t!"

With that Morro charged right at Lloyd, who seeing he had no other option threw his now fully formed energy sphere at the former ghost. Morro then, seeing it come right at him dodged it, by jumping into the air and using his wind, to propel himself in midair a few feet above the ground.

Lloyd felt his anger rising again at the sadistic smirk that was beginning to form on Morro's face again as he looked down on him. The green ninja immediately charged another energy sphere in the blink of an eye, only this time just as he was about to release it, the green ninja used all of his might to launch into the air as high as he could go before letting the energy sphere fly towards his target.

Morro caught by surprise due to the green ninja's speed, didn't see it coming until it was too late and in seconds he found himself flung onto the ground face first making a a loud thud as his face hit the dirt. When the former ghost lifted his head, he was met with the sight of Lloyd standing a few feet away from him, as he tried to stifle an obvious smirk.

Once again the wind master became filled with incurable rage as he lurched from the ground and appeared to be about to charge at the green ninja all over again.

However, as soon as he got to his feet, Morro felt a large hand firmly gripped his shoulder. As suspected when the former ghost turned around he was met with the sight of Koso, looking at the scene before him with an unreadable expression.

Then the older man spoke,

"Ok, I suppose I have to actually ask now. What is going on? I thought leaving you alone while I spied on you, from a tree would give me a clue as to what it is you two hate each other over ,but instead all I get is having to watch the two of you have a pathetic fight."

Morro and Lloyd mirrored each other's shocked expression as the man finished speaking.

"What?!"

"You were watching us?!

"Does that this wasn't some stupid training excercise?!"

Koso winced slightly at the loud shouts of both the teenagers before putting up his hand to silence them.

When they both went silent he spoke.

"Ok first, Yes great nephew, I was watching you two. Second, Did you really believe this was apart of training hah, maybe you're dumber than you look Morro."

Whether is was calling him an idiot or the fact he was using his name for once. Morro's face twisted into an angry scowl once again.

"You fuc-freaking said it was a training exercise dipsh- idiot!"

If Lloyd hadn't felt so pissed he might have chuckled at Morro clearly trying not to curse so he wouldn't be at the wrong end of Koso's hand again.

"Yes, I suppose I did. That was a lie. I just thought if I could observe you

two from afar I would be able to find out for myself what the problem is between you two.

However I see now perhaps things are more complicated than they originally appeared to be. So I believe I now have no other choice but to simply ask you two. What is going on?"

"Are you serious? What, did you not do your research before you kidnapped us?!" Morro sneered.

Koso narrowed his eyes in response before replying

"Yes sorry about that ,but I did just come into this world again a mere fortnight

ago after sixty years of being trapped in the eternal darkness of the afterlife. " Koso said defensively

"Believe me if I had more time I would have brushed up on the mountainous Ninjago history I was not there for ,but being as it is, all I can tell you is that I am aware that you,"

Koso turned his head to Morro.

"were dead as well for a little while, though you spent most of your afterlife in a place known as the cursed realm

am I correct this far?"

Morro looked to the ground refusing to answer as Koso stared at him pointedly before

turning his attention to Lloyd who had been completely quiet.

"Now I'll ask again what is the

gripe between you?"

Lloyd and Morro both refused to respond. Neither of them could bear to explain to this stranger they met yesterday why they held such contempt for the other. The whirlwind of emotions attached to those events would shatter both of their resolves if they were forced to relive them again.

Morro didn't pretend he was the biggest victim in this story, he knew he was the villain, the bad guy, the antagonist ,he was just there

because he couldn't accept the hand fate had dealt him and believed if he could rebel against it he could take what was rightfully his. Even still though, a part of him knew he

could never have that because he was the bad guy and the bad guy always loses in the end without anyone there to care.

Lloyd didn't like to pretend that Morro was the worst villain he had ever faced. That would be the overlord. Heck he wasn't probably even the second worst ,but something was different when he wanted to take over Ninjago like so many had tried and failed before.

No matter what had happened before with his other enemies, Lloyd could always rely on his own willpower. He could get out of anything because ninja never quit and no one, not even the overlord could take that from him.

…...but then Morro did.

When he possessed him, he took more then Lloyd's body he took over his mind, looked through his memories, his fears. He even made him fight the people he loved the most in this world.

…..and yet Morro still had the f*cking gull to say he had moved on, well good for him, it's not the people he hurt didn't get to move on , not like Lloyd didn't get to move on! Not like he had to spend weeks of secret physical therapy to re learn how to walk and breathe correctly all the time without having to concentrate.

" I asked you a question."

Koso interrupted both of their inner diatribes causing the two teenagers to look up simultaneously.

"Well?…"

Koso trailed off as he raised a long thin eyebrow.

" What happened with us has nothing to do with you!"

Lloyd shouted suddenly before immediately regretting it as he bent his head down in preparation for a reprimand

However it never came and when the green ninja looked up again, in confusion, he saw that Koso had not moved an inch and appeared to be deep thought as his face took on an unreadable expression.

Then in seconds he was speaking again.

"Very well I suppose I can respect that, after all I'm not here to be your father, nor your kind mentor. The only reason I'm not still six feet under is because I'm an angry old man who wants to spite his brother one last time before he goes back to the abyss."

Lloyd was shocked that Koso wasn't going to push him or Morro about their past. For a fraction of second Lloyd actually felt a kindle of gratitude.

"However I cannot teach you two how to use my element if you're constantly fighting each other, so it appears I'll have to go about this by other means."

Before Lloyd could question what those means were, he suddenly heard the sound of fingers snapping and within a fraction of a second felt something cold resting around his left wrist. When Lloyd looked down he saw a vengestone cuff attached to his wrist.

The green ninja's eyes widened in surprise anger, not a the cuff though, more so the fact that it was attached to a chain….. that was attached to a another cuff on Morro's wrist.


	10. Chapter 9

It took a total of five seconds for Morro to fully comprehend what had just happened and when he did it took even less time for them to be filled with anger and turn it on Koso.

The wind master shouted

"What the f*ck is this?!"

He was silenced though when Koso waved his black band covered hand dismissively, cutting them off.

"While I do detest that abhorrent language, I understand you may be a bit on the perturbed side at the moment so I'll let you off with a warning for that….. Now onto your question _this_ is how _I_ am going to make you two brats get along." Koso explained. " _This_ will help you two to learn to at least be around each other without needing me to force you two to play nice."

Lloyd had not spoken yet, and just continually stared at the offending cuff on his wrist.

The expression on his face was blank ,but behind it there was a clear unsettling anger somewhere inside him amongst other identifiable emotions.

Koso seemed to notice this and for once the usual sarcastic look that occupied his face was replaced by what appeared to be something resembling pity and perhaps even concern.

"This….. whatever is going on in this mad world today…..cannot continue, when you live your life with so much animosity towards a person you'll only end up a bitter old man whose life's purpose has become nothing more than hypocritically lecturing a pair of teenagers."

Koso finished.

Neither Lloyd nor Morro, looked as if they cared about what he had been diatribing about though it was clear they had at least heard him.

Lloyd still hadn't taken his eyes off the cuff and remained utterly silent.

After a moment of awkwardness Koso cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well it _is_ almost noon. Would either of you be interested in helping me catch dinner?"

The shocked expressions on both Morro and Lloyd's face, were priceless.

_Forgottenfamily_

After a tenuous walk through the woods which surprisingly enough did not result in Lloyd and Morro tearing each other's throats out, probably due to the fact Lloyd refused to make any eye contact with the former ghost nor say a word to him or Koso.

Needless to say, when the angry Morro, silent Lloyd, and indifferent Koso arrived at surprisingly enough, a _river bank_ tensions were sort of high.

Of course though Koso, tone deaf as ever did not seem to care as he quickly sat down on a nearby tree stump and untied his long boots that were mostly hidden underneath his long white cloak earlier. Watching the thirty something old man, Morro couldn't help ,but break his angry stare at the man and watched in slight amusement as the lanky,threatening,powerful man who claimed to be the sibling of the first f*cking spinjitzu master…

jump into the shallow creek completely barefoot like a f*cking twelve year old.

The size of Morro's eyes expanded exponentially.

"This f*cking psycho." Morro muttered quietly. More to himself than Lloyd who still hadn't acknowledged his presence.

Then a silver fish suddenly leapt up out of the water and before it could fall back to its watery home landed in Koso's waiting hands.

Looking pleased, he took off his hat and allowed his prize to fall inside, then with the skill of an expert frisbee thrower tossed his straw hat towards the river bank where it landed softly in the grass, the fish still inside slowly dying.

The older man did not have to turn around to know Morro had a shocked expression on his face.

"The kaminka fish, known for their sporadic habit of flying out of the water to try and catch near by bugs, not many in habit this area, but I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones, the next fish I catch I will most likely have to grab it out of the water myself "

"..."

"Well? Are you going to just stand there brooding, or are you two going to stop being ungrateful brats for a second and help me catch your lunch"

Narrowing his eyes Morro scowled disdainfully at the man "No, I think I'll hang onto what little pride I have left and not look like a complete idiot."

Koso frowned indifferently as he squatted down looking for another fish presumedly.

"Okay have a grand time not eating then, you got free subsistence from me twice,but no more, from now on you two eat what you can get yourselves ."

Morro rolled his eyes saying

"Oh no, I'm so scared. Please, I can last weeks on end without eating so much as a bread crumb."

"Really? Sounds to me you're afraid you'll look stupid if you can't catch a simple fish." Koso stated disinterestedly as if it were the most common knowledge in all the world.

Morro's angry scowl returned.

"I could catch a thousand fish if I wanted to."

" Oh really now? Care to prove it?"

The wind master snuck a look at the unreadable expression on Lloyd's downcast face before turning his head back towards Koso.

"Will you take this off?"

Morro gestured to the chain and at this Lloyd looked up slightly from the cuff towards Koso with a small glimmer of what could only be described as hope in his eyes.

"No," the green ninja immediately looked away dejectedly as Koso said this.

" I think this would be a great time for you two to show your _cooperation_ skills, unless of course you're not up to it?"

_F*ck you, I'll show you my cooperation skills, you sh*thead!_

Morro thought to himself as he decided to just jump down the bank without a word of warning to the blond he was tied to, before landing in the shallow water with a splash.

For a second the wind master was pleased to have landed on his feet, before he realized however that Lloyd was not so lucky and ended up falling in the water on his back causing Morro to rumble down with him two seconds after he landed.

Koso couldn't help ,but let out a small chuckle at the sight of Morro angrily getting up from the water with his trousers soaked, and a small red fish in his mouth that he had to spit out immediately to avoid choking.

"Well at least you managed to catch something."

"Shut up!" Morro shouted before turning to Lloyd who sat on his behind upon the creek floor staring at the water flowing around him with a stunned expression of shock.

"Okay, c'mon quit looking at the water and get up so I can catch some stupid fish,"

Morro said to him, but he didn't seem to be listening to the former ghost at all.

"Umm hello are you there?" Morro questioned his irritation clearly rising.

When the blond still hadn't snapped out of his stunned state the wind master gave him a little nudge of his foot whilst saying

"Urgh, get up already!" Morro lightly kicked Lloyd in hopes of getting him to move when suddenly the green ninja moved.

In a quick flurry of motion Lloyd grabbed Morro's leg in a vice grip and flipped him over so that he came crashing into the shallow water once again.

Morro immediately shot up again spluttering like crazy once he had a few seconds to recover. Meanwhile Lloyd had already stood up.

"That was for not warning me before, and also don't touch me again.


	11. Chapter 10

Morro looked about ready tear into Lloyd's stomach and rip apart all of his vital organs, when he finally managed to rise from the creek water, twice as wet ,but at least this time, no fish was invading his mouth. Koso could tell from a mile away what the wind master was thinking though and decided to mention,

"You know fighting while chained together would be foolish, if one of you breaks a leg or two, the other will have to drag that dead weight around."

Morro, though clearly still pissed seemed to agree with that statement and instead of lunging at his fellow captive again ,settled for low grumbling that no one could decipher. Lloyd paid no mind to the former ghost, and went back to staring at the water again, probably to avoid having to acknowledge Morro's presence next to him.

Morro rolled his eyes as he began to crouch a little with his arms stretched out far as his eyes searched the somewhat murky water for prey. The sudden movement caused Lloyd to be pulled down slightly, with him.

The green ninja glared at Morro annoyedly, before deciding that it would be best to keep his energy and awareness up and he knew would probably have a hard time doing that on an empty stomach, considering he had no idea if or when he would be able to eat again. With his laundry list of past kidnappers Lloyd was used to his captors suddenly withholding food from him, whether it was for, cooperation, or just to spite h he rarely knew. Besides if his old enemy was willing to embarrass himself, he might as well too. Lloyd with his mind made up, began to squat down in a similar position to Morro and Koso's.

Morro noticed this and couldn't stop a sickly scowl from appearing on his face once again, though he did not say anything and instead focused back to the water.

For a couple of minutes there was nothing,but silence, then there was a sudden loud splashing noise. Lloyd and Morro turned to see what it was and they were both met with the sight of Koso bent down both of his hands grabbing something moving in the water. There was too much dirt being kicked around to see, but that wasn't a problem for long, for the within the next minute Koso was hoisting a large red fish out of the water. Turning towards the two staring teenagers, Koso couldn't help a small smirk from appearing on his face as he unsheathed his sword, and cut the squirming fish in half, before tossing its chopped up body into his hat.

Turning back towards his watery hunting ground, Koso spared them a sideways glance.

"He put up a better fight than the last one, why not give him a quick death, besides he wouldn't fit with his full size."

"Isn't your hat going to smell like fish now?" Lloyd asked, earning what somewhat resembled a chuckle out of Morro.

Koso simply frowned and refused to answer. Not wanting to, Lloyd and Morro both turned back to the water, trying to look for any approaching fish. Thankfully it hadn't taken long for the battered dirt to be run off due to the strong flow of the creek and the water was able to clear up once more.

It was at this moment, Morro spotted a fish, and tried to grab it immediately….

He missed, it swam away as soon before his hand could come even close.

Cursing under his breath so Koso wouldn't hear him, Morro went back to staring at the water. Another fish swam by his feet,but like the last one it was too fast and disappeared before he could even blink.

It went on like this for Morro for the next few minutes, with occasionally Lloyd beside him , suddenly thrusting his hand into the water only to pull up a loose water plant instead of his desired target that was already half way up stream at that point.

Needless to say it was not going well for them.

For a brief minute Morro wondered why they were all swimming in the same direction despite it being against the flow of the stream. However his question was soon answered in the form of a bunch of dark purple flowers on the sides of the bank in which the fish kept swimming towards and once they got close would use their mouths to grab the flowers by the stem before swallowing them whole.

So they were trying to scavenge a particular food source.

Morro never considered himself to be particularly smart, certainly not educated either considering he didn't learn to read until he was ten when he moved in with Wu and to this day still struggled with basic math and spelling ,but every now and that being said Morro knew at that moment if he wanted a f*cking fish, he needed bait.

So wasting no time, Morro quickly made his way towards the flowers, paying no mind to the surprised and stumbling blond behind him.

Until he spoke that was.

"What are doing?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about."

Before Lloyd could reply, Morro had already lead them to the small Grove of purple flowers hanging off the bank a few feet upstream from them. Bending down Morro quickly plucked a particularly large flower , before turning around and making his way back dragging Lloyd behind without a care.

"Flower picking now? Gotta say Morro didn't expect that from you" The blond said with a sneering chuckle.

"Quiet! When I have a stupid fish we'll see who'll be laughing then." Morro retorted.

Before the blond could respond, Morro suddenly crouched down again pulling the green ninja with him, then thrust his flower holding hand into the water and waited impatiently for a fish to notice him.

A few minutes went by ,but no fish had come near him yet, meanwhile Koso had already caught two more fish at once and hauled them into his hat. This did not make the wind master pleased as he stared at his fishless hand in disdain, wondering how far had his life sunk to the point where he couldn't catch a simple f*cking fish. Morro couldn't stop himself from looking disdainfully at the indifferent Koso, when suddenly he felt something…. something…...slimy!

Looking down in excitement Morro was ready to see a plump fish nibbling at his fingertips! Only while there was in fact a fish, it wasn't simply prying at his fingertips in order to grab the purple flower ,but instead…had its gigantic mouth all the away around Morro's lower arm stopping at his elbow.

Morro's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he stared at the offending fish, no coherent thoughts coming into his head at all other then,

Sh*tsh*tsh*tsh*tsh*tsh*t!

"Sh*t!"

Oh, wait he said that one outloud.

Within a fraction of a second,

a looming shadow was cast over the crouching teenager.

When Morro managed to take his panicked eyes of the fish that still hadn't released his arm, he saw Koso's perturbed expression quickly morph into one of mild shock when he saw what was happening.

"Hmph, appears you've attracted the attention of a Swallow herring, known fo-"

"Would you shut up," Morro seethed, ",and tell me how to get this little shi-thing off!"

Koso cocked an eyebrow in response before, simply shrugging and reaching behind him and unsheathing his red sword once again.

"Unfortunately, the swallow herring, is a stubborn type, kind of like someone I know

and they won't release easily," as he said this Koso began pointing the tip of his sharp sword towards Morro's arm, making the teenagers already wide eyes, expand even more as nervous sweat (that he would later swear was because of the heat) began trickle down his face.

"So, I'm afraid I'll have to take somewhat extreme measures to detach him."

Lloyd annoyedly felt Morro drag him along and begin to back away from the ominous Koso and his deadly sharp blade.

"Not to fear though, this won't take long." Koso said dismissively.

"W-wait, hold on!" Morro yelled backing away even further, trying to put as much distance between him and the older man ,but it was in vain, for in a split second Koso had already grabbed onto his fish covered arm in a vice grip that was for too unyielding for the former ghost to break.

"Now now, hold still, I might be a little rusty after sixty years of not existing in this world."

"Shut up! Let me go!"

Morro struggled fruitlessly as Koso raised his sword in the air, much to Lloyd's own shock.

Then quick as sparrow the sword came crashing down. On instinct the green ninja looked away preparing to hear the sound of flesh being cut.

However instead of that, what actually happened was Koso using his sword's tip, cut a narrow line down the length of the fish killing instantly whilst also cutting it open. Once it was cut the dead fish was easy to rip off Morro's arm completely, the only evidence it had been there it's gooey stomach residue.

Morro who had squeezed his eyes shut when he saw the blade coming down, shot them open when he felt that his arm was still attached to his body. Koso stood, frowning disinterestedly above him dangling the dead fish as if it were a banana peel left on the floor.

"Now was that so bad?"

"You….you! You fu-"

Morro cut himself off when he saw Koso's eyes narrowing and his hand rising ever so slightly from his side.

"Hmm, it appears I was able to beat one lesson into that stubborn head of yours."

Morro narrowed his angry eyes at the comment, glaring irately at the man.

"I hate you."

"Loathe me all you like, it won't change the fact I saved your arm just now."

"I could have gotten it off without your help."

"I'm sure."

"Urgh." Morro grumbled angrily "Just give me the stupid fish, I caught it myself." He said reaching for it, only for Koso to stretch his long arms out, keeping the dead fish from Morro's reach.

"That you did I'll give you that. I have to put your prize with the others, when I slipped my first catch in my hat earlier I was able to cast a cooling spell inside the small space to keep the fish fresh, you wouldn't want a spoiled fish for lunch now would you?"

Morro seeing the logic in Koso's statement decided to relent and went to sit by the bank.

"I caught one fish, that's all I need, I'm done looking like a fool."

However when, Morro did this he failed to remember he was still cuffed to a certain green ninja who hadn't caught anything yet and would be. d*amned if he was going to let a former enemy drag him around like a rag doll.

When Morro felt a weight keeping him from moving forward, he turned around to see Lloyd, giving him a sideways glare, before he crouched down once more , waiting for a fish.

Huffing, annoyedly Morro decided to comply and stepped slightly closer to give the green ninja some slack.

A few minutes passed, no luck with grabbing anything. Though Morro thought of suggesting going and grabbing one of the purple flowers, he realized that if the green ninja wanted to he would have already, he was many things,but stupid surprisingly wasn't one of them. It was likely the blond either didn't want to copy him, or that he simply didn't want to risk a swallow herring attacking his arm as well.

Just when Morro was getting a little annoyed and noticed Koso might have been nearing that point as well Lloyd saw a small streak of silver headed towards him. When it suddenly flew out of the water, he barely had enough time to catch it ,but with incredible luck Lloyd managed to grab it mid air.

"Gotcha!" The green ninja yelled triumphantly…...only that was short lived , because the fish slipped out of his grasp within the next second, and with how close he was standing, landed right in Morro's face, its squirming long tail flapping against his face for a split second before the former ghost angrily wrenched his hand up to try and grab it.

Only for it to slip out of his grasp as well and fall towards the water. However before it could reach the safety of the water once more, it was suddenly stabbed through the heart by Koso's sword effectively becoming a fish kabob that very moment.

Koso cocked an eyebrow in slight amusement as he saw Morro's blushing red face as he stared angrily at Lloyd, who return his glare with a smug frown.

"Ah, very good great nephew. I assume you'll be satisfied with this for lunch."

Turning his attention back to his 'great uncle's Lloyd answered.

"Uh, yeah that should be fine." With a moment's hesitation Lloyd added.

"Thank you…..for not letting it get away." It couldn't hurt to try and pretend, he was grateful, maybe this way he could gain the man's trust enough to get a chance to escape. At least that was what Lloyd told himself.

Koso's eyebrows Rose in slight surprise at the sudden sentiment of gratitude.

"You're welcome, now we better head back to my humble abode, hope you lot know how to cook."

"What?!"


	12. Chapter 11

Alright, I hope that Sensei of yours didn't baby you too much and taught how to cook a fish." Koso said as he walked through the small doorway, having to duck slightly due to his height. Morro and Lloyd meanwhile had accidentally entered the doorway together at the same time, and were now struggling slightly to fight their way inside. Koso rolled his reptile like eyes at their stubbornness as Lloyd finally managed to push Morro back enough so he could fit through with the former ghost

now behind him.

Once both were through, they immediately started protesting, "I am not cooking with him it's already bad enough you chained us together!" Morro yelled

"How are we supposed to cook anyway, we're chained together, it'll be a disaster." Lloyd reasoned.

Koso sighed whilst pinching the bridge of his nose in response. "Believe me, if I could, I wouldn't be letting you anywhere near fire much less in my home, however I'm afraid I have to make you two learn to coexist in order for my 'master' plan to work, besides I have to go get drinking water from a nearby well. By the time I get back, I expect the fish to be at least partially done is that clear?"

Lloyd gaped,

"You mean you're leaving us alone?!"

"Yes."

"I-I ...I-"

"You'll , be a good lad, and do as I say."

"This is ridiculous!" The green ninja shouted. "How is any of this supposed to teach us how to use, this element of travel, you keep preaching about?"

Koso leaned down near Lloyd's level as he replied.

"I would appreciate it, if you could learn not to complain so much great nephew." He said menacingly, then made his way out the front door, but not before sparing an over the shoulder glance at the teenagers.

"Try to burn my cottage down." With that, Lloyd's 'great' uncle disappeared into the night.

It took a second after the older man was gone for the green ninja to remember chained beside him was one of his worst enemies.

He was reminded however when he felt a tug on the chain pulling him. When Lloyd looked over at Morro, he saw the wind master heading towards the kitchen and beginning to tear open cabinets and drawers like he was looking for something.

"C'mon, there has to be something." Lloyd heard the wind master mutter to himself.

"What are doing?" Lloyd asked suddenly becoming suspicious.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to see if the f*cker left anything I can pick this d*mn chain with."

Lloyd cocked an eyebrow in perplexedness. "You can do that, pick locks I mean."

"Yeah,grew up a pit pocket while I lived on the streets. I used to pick bakery and slaughter house door locks all the time. All I need is something sharp,thin, and pointy than I can get away from both you a**hats."

Lloyd had never thought of himself as preachy,but he was starting to get a little annoyed at Morro's less than proper vocabulary. That was probably the only thing he liked about Koso, the man knew how to shut the wind master up. As Morro kept, shuffling through the kitchen only to come up with carving knives that while good for cutting fish, were far too big to pick a lock with, and too dull to cut the chain, Lloyd began to wonder if he should tell Morro to just give up the unyielding search and cook the stupid fish for now, so they wouldn't possibly get into trouble when Koso got back. However he soon found that he didn't have to when Morro rose angrily from the kitchen floor with nothing to show for.

"That, b**tard! He probably knew I could pick this f**king lock!" Morro seethed.

Lloyd simply rolled his eyes in response before, turning towards a pile of skillets the wind master had tossed out on the floor in his search.

Carefully bending down to pick three up, Lloyd quickly made his way toward the stove whilst dragging a surprises Morro behind him.

The former ghost eyed the blond weirdly as the green ninja sat the skillet on a stove top, before going back over to the counter and grabbing Koso's hat.

As Lloyd began setting the fish on the skillets, sorting them based on who caught which ones, Morro spoke up.

"Are you seriously going to stoop this?"

Lloyd not interested in talking to the wind master he was chained to, decided not to speak and instead focused on heating their dinner up.

"Fine. Be pathetic. I don't care.'

Ignoring him, the green ninja looked to turn the stove knobs, however as he did he realized that there were none. Lloyd stood there for a minute in utter confusion before he suddenly felt himself being jerked by the cuff on his wrist.

Turning his head, Lloyd saw that Morro was dragging him towards the counter where Koso's hat had been. Sitting at the edge, was a small box of matches that Morro grabbed before he quickly made his way towards it, grabbed the matches, and then walked back to the stove, before bending down and taking one out

"What are you doing?"

"This is like the old oven,Wu used to own. It needs a fire, so we need a match."

"Oh."

Lloyd was surprised to not hear cursing coming from, Morro ,but was thankful nonetheless as the wind master began to try and light the match. However that proved to be more difficult than expected for Morro struggled a good few minutes with lighting it. Lloyd could not take it anymore and finally decided to say something.

"You're going to fast give it a chance to catch the spark"

"I know how to light a match." Morro defended.

"Doesn't look like it." Lloyd mumbled.

Slightly enraged at this point the wind master shot his feet and thrust the box into Lloyd's hands.

"Fine you do it, chosen one!"

"Alright." Lloyd said calmly, not in the mood to fight over f**king matches.

Within a few minutes Morro was sulking, as he and Lloyd watched the fish begin to cook on the stove.

ForgottenFamily

"I almost had that one!" seethed a young boy standing barely clothed with long black hair that fell to his ankles.

on the rocky shore of a crystal blue lake. His rod's string had been broken once again as his would be dinner escaped back under the waves.

Beside him stood another boy with straight, shoulder length blonde hair and a face full of small freckles.

"It's gonna be okay, Koso you'll catch the next one." He said encouragingly

"I better, brother I only have one more line." The black haired boy replied, holding up the precious white string he had spent hours crafting, as he began to tie it onto the rod ,and then fastened the spare hook he had carved that morning from the nearby twigs that surrounded the lake on the other end, before picking up a large beetle from the cage full of bugs he had caught over the week and placing stabbing it on the hook with the force of someone truly hungry.

"I know you can do it!"

The young Koso couldn't help ,but smile at his brother's kind words.

"Yeah, I'll make sure we eat like dragons tonight!" Koso said triumphantly.

His younger brother giggled happily. "Yeah! Just like Papa!"

All of the sudden Koso's smile disappeared he stared at his brother, eyes filled with emotions he always fought to keep down whenever he thought of…'him' .

"Brother,...I told you not-we don't talk about him anymore remember." Koso said quietly,but angirly.

"But, he's only been gone for-"

"For six months now! Face it brother he is never coming back."

"But maybe-"

"He's NOT. He doesn't love us anymore!"

As soon as Koso yelled that he regretted it when he saw the tears leaking into his younger brother's eyes.

"Hey, wait, no no no no don't cry." Koso said ,but was still met with sniffles. "I-I, I'm sorry please don't cry."

The young black haired boy couldn't stand for anymore crying.

However that meant little to his weeping brother who could never stop the flood gates. He was only seven after all. But Koso wasn't seven, he was ten, he was older so he should know better,better than to keep messing up on catching them dinner, better than to make his younger brother cry, better than to keep getting upset over that simple stupid wor-

"*Sniffle* Uh? H-Hey! Big brother look." The young blonde suddenly shouted.

Torn from his thoughts, the young black haired boy turned to see on the other end of his string was a large blue fish struggling viciously to get free from the wooden hook.

Filled with excitement, Koso quickly used all of his strength to back up on shore enough to drag the fish from its home to its soon to be grave.

With amazing luck his plan worked and the blue fish was now dead on the ground in front of two smiling young boys, their earlier dispute pushed to the back of their minds as they sprinted back into the forest to find the cave they lived in, before it got dark.

Forgottenfamily

Koso stared at the bucket of water he had just hoisted from the well, while the echoes of that memory faded from his mind. What a stupid brother he had had. Couldn't ever stop believing papa would eventually come back and maybe even bring mama back from the dead, stupid stupid, brother.

Koso knew though that he wasn't much better after all, believing he could trust his brother ,but that proved to be his undoing in the end. Heaven help him, if he could teach anything more to the teenagers he had brought to here, let it be this,

Never trust on anyone.


	13. Chapter 12

Well you certainly tried ."

Koso said as he surveyed the three plates of burnt, chopped up fish that lay on the kitchen table before him.

"I tried to tell the idiot the fish was getting too dark."

Morro defended himself, whilst making a small head gesture to the blond beside him.

"I thought, the fish might still be raw on the inside!" Lloyd said clearly offended. "Besides at least I didn't hack it to pieces "

"I was trying to get the f**king bones out!" Morro objected.

"Well nice jo-"

"Alright, that's enough now. Let's just all agree you're both idiots, and suffer through this pathetic meal together shall we? " Koso said rolling his reptilian like eyes as he pulled out his chair and gestured for the two teenagers to do the same before sitting down.

Once everyone was seated, with Morro and Lloyd having to pull their chairs embarrassingly close together, Koso took the liberty of pouring the water from the bucket he had fetched out of the well earlier

into the three separate cups he had set on the table earlier

As Lloyd stared at the murky water invading his cup, he was about to speak up that drinking this would likely kill them, however within a second he realized he didn't have to because Koso simply snapped his fingers once again and instantly the water in all three cups was crystal clear.

Lloyd stared perplexedly at the man and decided to ask,

"Hey, how does your sorcery, magic stuff work?"

Koso lifted his head, eyes slightly widened sense he had clearly not expecting the question.

"I …...it's hard to explain. What exactly do you want to know?"

"Like, why are you always just snapping your fingers? Is that how you do those spells?"

Koso couldn't stop his eyes from flickering down to his hands as the green ninja pointed it out.

"No ...Well ... the motion doesn't have anything to do with performing the 'magic' as you call it, no that is all done up here ," Koso explained gesturing to his temple. "Because of the years of practice under my belt I've learned how to mentally recite spells I snap my fingers, because it helps to signal to your body, the end of a spell chant. It's basically become muscle memory at this point for me." Koso finished whilst once again looking at his boney fingers.

"Wait, so do you just have a bunch of random spells memorized?" Morro chimes in unexpectedly.

"Well, yes ,but it's really not as complicated as you might think, most spells are boiled down to simple symbols and if you can put them to memory perfectly you can perform the spell just fine without any words." Koso replied. "Of course the hard part is keeping a steady flow of energy in order to cast the spell just right, otherwise it will not turn out pleasant."

"Where do you get the energy from" Morro asked with his left eyebrow raised.

Koso cast an almost surprised look at the wind master before replying.

"Well typically sorcerers use the energy that exists within their own bodies, however that tends to drain pretty quickly depending on what spell you cast, if you were a really skilled sorcerer and you could probably learn how to take someone else's energy and use it yourself, however that would require years of practice, and while I could very well attempt it myself, I find that due to my oni and dragon lineage I have enough vast amounts of energy I could cast at least a thousand spells within the same day and not tire."

Lloyd processed what Koso said as he stared down at his burnt fish before another query popped into his mind.

"Wait, okay, so let's just say I believe the whole you're my great uncle, brother of the first spinjitzu master and all that, how did you get the spell that brought you and him back to life if you were stuck in the departed realm for sixty years?"

Koso sighed before answering "I see you boys have suddenly caught the curious bug. Alright how do I explain this in a way you'll understand?" Koso paused for a moment seemingly in concentration. "Well,great nephew for one that wasn't a spell, it was a curse and before you ask, a curse is different from a spell in the way that it's supposed to take a long amount of time to fully be complete, also only curses have even the slightest chance of reanimating someone."

"Why did you do that instead of just, I don't know casting a curse that would have revived you the next day instead of sixty years from now." Morro suddenly questioned.

"Well that's quite simple to answer , I had no other choice. See in order to cast a curse that will bring someone back from the dead, you need some form of energy that can, how do I put this, retrieve someone's soul from the departed realm and restore their body. That energy for I was my elemental power."

"Wait I thought you said that we inherited it?" Lloyd suddenly asked.

"Alright, let me explain. Yes, you two did inherit my elemental power, however due to the curse I cast on the realm crystal, a small sliver of that amazing power I used to weild was used to revive both I and this one." Koso gestured to Morro as he spoke.

"So you're saying we don't even have the whole element, if you're telling the truth and it does exist, and you want us to learn how to summon it, do you even know how long that might take?" Lloyd asked, scepticism apparent in his voice.

Koso narrowed his eyes once again at the blonde.

"Yes, I do expect you to learn how to summon my elemental power eventually. As to how long it will take, it doesn't really matter, you'll be kept here until you can and I don't plan on giving up." Koso stated calmly as if he was talking about something as common as the weather.

Upon hearing those words, something rose up in the green ninja and he was suddenly hit with the remembrance of his situation. Lloyd had no idea when, or if his brothers would find him, and this lunatic was somehow to powerful for him to fight, even with his elemental power, not to mention he was chained to one of his worst enemies. The worst part though was that he had no idea how long this would last, days,weeks,months,years...

No...wait ...no! he couldn't think like that, he would get out of here, he wouldn't stay chained to the blowhard for long, he just had to figure a way out of this place and the best way to do that would be with a level head and to plan his actions carefully. This man defeated him once. That doesn't mean he's invincible, he has to have a weakness.

Then a thought came into the green ninja's mind and before he could process it, another question sprang from his lips.

"Hey how did that sword you carry around protect you from my blow when we fought yesterday?"

"Hmmm? Oh you're referring to this?" Koso pointed to the sheathed sword he had placed on the back his chair earlier.

"It's really nothing important." Koso said simply before, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh my, what time is it?" The black haired male asked out of nowhere. When no reply came , because there wasn't a clock anywhere to be found in the small cottage, Koso looked outside and surprisingly enough it the sun seemed to be about to set.

"I suppose that, fishing trip of ours, took a little longer than expected, (and perhaps the large amount of time we spent walking) anyways you two best hurry up and eat so you can get to rest. Tomorrow you'll both be waking up far before sunrise." Koso said cutting into his burnt fish, with the wooden silverware he had placed on the table that morning before they left.

Once they were all finished eating, ( actually more like picking at) their fish, Koso had the two boys stand up as he walked them back to their 'bedroom'. When the two teenagers stepped into the small room, thankfully no problem getting through the doorway this time, they found that the two tiny twin beds they slept on last night, were now pushed together side by side in the center of the room right under the window that was glowing with the fading light of the sunset.

Morro looked as if he was about to get angry at the sight,but before he could have an outburst, Lloyd quickly tugged on the chain and walked straight to the beds, before turning back at Koso.

"Okay thanks, we'll just head get bed now." Lloyd said casually, with a hint of a fake smile appearing on his face.

Koso narrowed his eyes as he stood in the doorway, arms crossed while he replied.

"You'll be alright? I won't have to cast another paralysis spell?"

"Yeah, I feel fine tonight. I was stupid for being so of afraid of someone who screamed at a fish." Lloyd said quickly, trying not to look at the now fuming wind master beside him who was clearly angry at the insult.

"I see…." Koso said quietly. "Well hope you two are ready to despise my existence tomorrow, also don't even think that you can escape when I fall asleep. I was a light sleeper since before either of you came out of the womb." The black haired male warned as he left whilst shutting the door behind him.

As soon as they were alone Morro turned to face the green ninja with a pissed off expression painted on his features.

"Okay what the f**k's gotten into you?! Last night you'd rather sleep in the cursed realm than within ten ft of me. Now, you're just fine with it, despite this?" Morro jerked his arm up, as a gesture to the chain

Lloyd rolled his eyes up at the taller boy as he replied.

"No I'm not okay with any of this, especially you, believe me,but *inhale* I think we both have a common enemy. Koso. Look I don't like you and you don't like me and we can both agree that neither of us want to be here, however I think if we want to get away from here and each other as soon as possible we might …have to….work together. "

Morro frowned whilst raising an eyebrow at the blond.

"What exactly are getting at?"

Lloyd quickly looked around the room and out the window to make absolutely sure the crazy man wasn't nearby to hear him, before he replied to Morro in a whispered voice

"Okay, listen you saw how Koso reacted when I asked about his sword, he brushed it off and didn't answer me. I think that the only reason he was able to beat me before was because of that sword."

"How do you know it wasn't anything to do with his magic or whatever?" Morro asked skeptically.

"Because think about it so far, he's only used his magic to do little things, nothing major. I think that's because it's like he said, he can only perform certain spells with minimal energy requirement because he's just a regular guy with creepy eyes and nothing more, he knows if he tries anything with magic above, freezing some stupid fish he'll be drained because he is definitely not related to the first spinjitzu master. He's just some deranged sorcerer, probably related to some former enemy I've fought before and is just trying to humiliate me and take some form of revenge or whatever."

"How do you explain a simple sword being to able do all that sh*t though?"

"It's probably just some ancient artifact with some amazing power or something, it probably was the thing that brought you back too." Lloyd explained.

"Look my point is, if we can find a way to get the sword from him, we'll be able to defeat him and get out of here."

Morro narrowed his eyes at the green ninja suspicion reflected clearly in his grey green orbs.

"And how do I know I can trust that you won't f**king try to get rid of me as soon as we do."

" You're the one afraid of getting backstabbed?"

"I told you I don't care anymore, I'd rather jump into the nearest lake and drown myself than stay in Ninjago a second longer." Morro defended himself.

"Well then why does I matter to you if I end do up killing you." Lloyd pointed out.

"I….Look I just...I don't want to be made a fool of a second time ok ." Morro spoke softly, with a hint of hoarseness.

Lloyd felt taken aback by the almost gentle tone the wind master spoke with. "Okay, let's make a deal, neither of us fight each other or try anything underhanded until after we've escaped and separated, if we cross paths later, free for all. Deal?" Lloyd asked

"...fine, deal." Morro agreed, both teenagers refusing to seal it with a handshake.

After a moment of awkward silence, Lloyd looked at the conjoined beds and said.

"I hate what I'm about to say more than anything else in the world,but ...I think we'll be best able to get the sword away from Koso if we're ...fully rest." The blonde gestured to the beds.

"What?!"

"Shh, listen, I hate this as much as you do probably more,but if we just stand here all night and don't get any sleep it's going to be harder to get the sword away from Koso."

Morro looked like he was about to object, but clearly decided against it, for he simply nodded slightly in reply.

Once again there was a moment of awkward silence,

before Lloyd decided he had to just push past it as he silently made his way to the beds. It was a little difficult figuring out how he should get on until he ultimately decided to just get on first and pull the wind master behind him and hope that worked out okay. Once both teenagers were on the beds, each tried to stretch as far as the chain would allow them away from the other, which due to its short length wasn't far.

Thankfully though as they both laid on their backs, with faces turned the walls, they were able to find comfortable positions they could fall asleep in. However the ever growing feeling of awkward tension was not forgotten by either teenager.

As Morro made very good friends with the wall beside him a strange feeling of what could only be referred to as relief crept into his system and he was actually pretty sure why. Something about Lloyd being able to sleep near him, unlike the night before felt…good ok?

It was as if the blonde was saying he wasn't that bad of a monster, hell he even formed a temporary truce with him.

Something about that made the wind master feel like, perhaps….he, despite everything he had done to Lloyd in the past wasn't so…..bad.

As Lloyd stared at the cottage wall, not feeling at all tired because it was probably only six o'clock right now, he couldn't help ,but endlessly question how he ended up here, sleeping next to the ghost that possessed him and used his body to try and kill his friends. Life was just very full of surprises.


	14. Chapter 13

"Look my point is, if we can find a way to get the sword from him, we'll be able to defeat him and get out of here."

Lloyd didn't regret a lot of things in his life ,but he sure did regret saying those words two weeks ago.

The green ninja was stunned in place from shock as he surveyed the scene before him. Morro laid sprawled out on the ground clutching his arms and knees as close to his chest as he could. Thankfully for him it was a lot easier since their chain broke on the impact. A few feet away stood one surprised and angry Koso, seemingly trying to process the events that had just transpired.

Lloyd really thought it would work, if they could play nice for a little while and go along with the training Koso had them do that included, climbing, trees,rock formations, and even swimming together to learn valuable lessons about teamwork , eventually the opportunity would present itself and they could snatch the sword away and cut their chain loose and then pumble this joke of an imposter into the ground.

But…... that's not what happened at all. Instead when Lloyd had tried to grab the sword off Koso's back when he was bent over tying his boot during training, the older man had reacted too quickly and what ended up happening were two things that stunned the green ninja to his very core.

First was as the snake eyed man turned around Lloyd could see plain as day a ball of light charged in his palm?!

The second thing was that as Koso was about to clearly retaliate against the blonde on impulse, Morro had suddenly grabbed Lloyd's unchained arm and spun him around, away from the attack.

And that was how they ended up here, with Morro writhing on the ground and Koso looking ready to murder someone. Lloyd had to make himself hold back a gulp as the long black haired male approached him.

Within seconds his left cheek was burning from the pain of a slap.

"You idiots! Do you have any idea what I could have-If one of you weren't critically injured right now I'd be beating some sense into both of you neanderthals!"

Lloyd did not reply and instead opted to step aside to allow him entry as Koso gave the green ninja a one eyed glare, clearly warning him not to try and run for it.

Without a word, Koso knelt down on the ground next to the writhing teenager and gave him a quick check over before gently lifting Morro into his arms bridal style and standing up. This elicited something between a whimper and grunt from the wind master. Koso paid Morro little mind though as he began walking down the path they had taken out to the woods. Lloyd might have debating following were it not for the death glare Koso side eyed him.

They walked in tense silence the whole way back to the cottage. When the pair stepped inside,Koso was quick to make his way to Lloyd and Morro's room and then gingerly lay the writhing wind master down on his bed. Lloyd stood silently in the doorway, definitely not worried about Morro though, just curious.

Morro seemed too preoccupied with the pain he was feeling to notice any fear he might have had at the moment, as Koso carefully knelt down in front of him and reached out boney hand to briefly touch areas around his arms,legs,and neck.

"This isn't good." Koso stated aloud," In my impulsive state I'm I afraid I accidentally hit him full force without realizing, he must have at least several bone fractures at this moment."

After a pregnant pause of tense silence, Lloyd found a bit of courage to ask quietly,"Ca-Can't you use that stuff you gave us the first day you brought us here?"

Koso turned his attention towards the green ninja and narrowed his eyes harshly at the blond before responding.

"Unfortunately I'm afraid that healing potion you are referring to was not easy to brew, it required special ingredients that I had to collect miles from here, and it just so happens we're out."

"Oh well,...is he….gonna be ok still."

Koso sighed agitatedly, "I have no idea, my power has killed thousands of men thrice his size before, I have no idea if his fractures will even be able to heal correctly."

Lloyd considered his words carefully. While he was not happy his plan didn't work apart of him felt happy that at the very least it was not him in unimaginable pain at the moment. So maybe it was stupid to say this,but he didn't want to be in Morro's debt for anything so….

"But, if you were able to make another one of those healing potions he'd be fine right?"

Koso's eyes if possible managed to narrow even further than they already had.

"What are you getting at?"

"All I'm saying is that it looks like our only option is for you to get the ingredients you need for the pot-"

"I'm sorry, are you suggesting what I think you are?!"

"Well, look if you leave us here and go get the stuff for another potion I could make sure he-"

"Are you jesting with me right now?!" Koso demanded."Why would I leave you two, who tried to attack me earlier alone for lord knows how long it will take me to gather all the ingredients I need!"

"It can't take you that long. I mean you're the brother of the first spinjitzu master aren't you?" Lloyd didn't know if he was even joking when he said that.

"You would try to escape the second I wasn't in ear shot!"

Lloyd looked over at Morro on the bed who looked absolutely miserable, and the small pang of guilt in his chest urged him to argue on,

"Look can't you just, I don't know cast a spell on me or something so I can't leave!?"

"I-...Oh my, for once you're not entirely wrong….Yes that's exactly what I can do, I can cast a barrier spell around the cottage so you can't get out. Perfect!" Koso congratulated himself. "Although,...can I really trust you not to get in any more trouble than you already have."

Lloyd swallowed green eyes once again darting back to Morro who was still clutching his arms and legs together in pain.

"I'll give you my word as a ninja, I won't try anything while you're gone."

"...very well then"

Forgottenfamily

After wrapping Morro's arms and legs in thick bandages in order to ease his pain, and casting the barrier spell, Koso now stood in the doorway of his small cottage giving Lloyd some much needed instructions.

"I've cast the barrier around the entirety of the cottage, and don't worry I've given enough space for you to be able to make it to the backyard as you refer to it, so you should have no problem getting to those wild chickens we caught yesterday, the female's eggs and male's meat should last you food wise at least a month, though I doubt I'll be gone that long." Koso said casually as he began stepping out the door.

"Ok" Lloyd replied tersely.

"Make sure that whenever you're cooking you put the fire out when you're done."

"Ok" Lloyd replied again.

"Alright, I expect everything to be in the order I left it, if not we are going to have a serious talk understood."

"Yes…...sir"

Once the words left the blonde's mouth he looked up slightly to find that the straw hat wearing male was already out of sight completely.

Lloyd sighed quietly before closing the door shut.

Forgottenfamily

It didn't even take a full minute before Koso was out of earshot of the cottage as he quickly darted through the woods. It would take at least three days for him to find all the ingredients he needed for the healing potion luckily, he knew exactly where they were so it at least wouldn't take long to find them.

However, as the black haired male was running, he couldn't help ,but feel all sorts of angry thoughts and worries begin to surface their way into his mind.

Why did those brats have to be so stupid, if they hadn't had tried that, the green haired one wouldn't be in so much pain right now! And to think they had been doing so well these past two weeks!

As Koso was lost in his thoughts though, he failed to notice, a lurking presence hidden in the treetops.

Forgottenfamily

It was now five minutes that Koso had been gone and Lloyd had never felt so bored in his life. Save for, maybe when he fell asleep during a biology lecture Zane was giving that one time.

The green ninja just had no idea what to do, he had given his word to Koso he wouldn't try anything funny while he was gone, but…...there was nothing else to do besides that! It almost wasn't fair.

Lloyd had kind of hoped that now would be a good time to go to and reason out his options from this point on,but he just couldn't focus. Maybe that was the inner thirteen years old child in him.

It was at this moment he considered maybe checking on Morro, though he knew that that probably wasn't a good idea,because there was nothing he could do except maybe try and talk to him, but based on what he had witnessed earlier, Morro was not exactly in a state to chit chat.

Lloyd kind of hoped the wind master was able to fall asleep on his own, since he protested vehemently when Koso explained he was about to cast a long term sleeping spell on him, saying over and over again through clenched teeth, "N-no, no, no, I'm f-fine d-don't you fuc-f-freaking th-that!" It was enough, for the older male to shake his head and simply walk away without casting the spell.

"*Grrrr*"

Lloyd was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts when he heard his stomach grumbling loudly. Knowing that it was probably around dinner time Lloyd could easily figure out why.

Standing up from the couch he had been lounging on, the green ninja quickly made his way to the front door, before a thought crossed his mind.

'Is Morro hungry? He could probably use some food to at least get his mind off the pain, right?' Lloyd considered asking him ,but decided against it because he was sure the arrogant wind master would try to act tough and refuse just out of pride. The green ninja figured if he was gonna try that sh** it would probably be harder when food was already presented and prepared in front of him.

With his mind made up, the green ninja quickly slipped out the front door and made his way around to the new chicken coup in the backyard while carefully maneuvering his way along the edges of the clear as day purple magic barrier Koso had cast.

Forgottenfamily

This was nothing.

Nothing at all.

He had been through pain ten times worse than this.

A hundred times worse

A thousand-

"Aarghhhh" Morro moaned aloud. "F**kf**kf**kf**kF**K!"

The wind master banged his head repeatedly onto his pillow. The rough motion brought him at least some distraction from the monumental pain he felt right now. His bones ached and his skin felt like it had been dipped in boiling lava.

All because he thought it was a good f**king idea to get that stupid idiot out of the way.

Why had he done it? It wasn't like they had suddenly become best friends these past two weeks. It was all for show, so that maybe, Koso would relax enough to give them an opportunity to steal his sword and cut their chain.

Look at how well that turned out. He should have never listened to that f**king little sh**! How big of an idiot did that make himself though.

What, did he think Lloyd might feel grateful that he saved him. That he would forgive him. Tell Sensei, he changed and was all better now and could come bac-

'No!' Morro scolded himself. 'Don't even think about, him , it's not worth it,... it ….won't change anything thinking about him, all it will do is bring up some stupid f**king wounds you stupid f**ker!'

Morro was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear the subtle sound of a door opening and closing, or it doing so again ten minutes later, followed by the sound of a knife chopping meat and water boiling.

He was only broken from his thoughts when he heard footsteps entering the room and opening the door.

When Morro looked up slightly, he was surprised to see Lloyd standing there with a sturdy cutting board and two wooden bowls filled to the brim with what appeared to be some kind of meat stew. The wind master raised an eyebrow as Lloyd carefully sat down on his side of the squished together twin beds and carefully sat down the board between him and Morro before gently setting the bowls on the far ends, one right in front of him and one next of the wind master. He then neatly set a spoon in his soup before depositing one in Morro's.

The former ghost eyed the meal skeptically, seemingly confused. Noticing this Lloyd quickly explained.

"I decided to make a meat stew from one of the male chickens we caught yesterday, it was hard to cut his head off, but I just wasn't in the mood for eggs so…...bon appetit I guess."

"Why….Why would you care if I eat, it's not like Koso's around to see."

Lloyd coughed slightly as he swallowed his first spoonful silently wishing he had let it cool more.

"I- Well why did you let yourself get hit by him instead of me? It was my own stupid fault I got caught."

"I-Just shut up and leave me alone." Morro spat.

"Are, are you feeling any better ?"

"What do you f**king think?!"

Morro snapped.

Lloyd almost considered pointing out that if he had just let Koso cast that sleeping spell on him he wouldn't be feeling any pain at all right now, but for some reason he could not identify decided against it.

"Ok sorry I asked…,but you know you might feel better if you try to eat something."

"I'd rather go hungry than kill myself trying to lift up a f**king spoon" Morro explained crudely.

"Oh…." Lloyd hated himself so much right now. "Ummmm, ok…..I can help with that." Lloyd said awkwardly reaching over and grasping Morro's spoon.

Morro eyes immediately blazed a light with indignant fury. "No, f**king do what I think you're about to do and I will make your life a living he-!" The wind master was cut off when his mouth was assaulted in the form of a spoon of now cooled off chicken stew being shoved into his mouth.

Morro considered screaming, ,but as the warm soup glided down his throat and fell into his empty belly, he couldn't find it in him to do more than glare angrily at Lloyd as he gently removed the utensil once its contents were emptied.

"Did that….taste ok?"

"I-you-, don't you EVER do that again!" Morro yelled, though he soon regretted it for it caused a deafening pain in his cracked ribs.

After taking a long minute to recover the wind master turned his head away from the green ninja and stared dejectedly at the wall, feeling nothing more than completely embarrassed.

After a few minutes of awkward silence Lloyd spoke. "Look I,...I'm sorry I did that ok, it's just I think it would be best for you to have a full stomach tonight, dealing with pain from not only injuries,but hinge as well isn't easy believe me I know and you should as well."

Morro's face scrunched up in anger, though Lloyd couldn't see it because he still hadn't turned his face away from the wall. For the next few minutes Morro listened with jealousy as Lloyd quietly ate his soup.

As much as the wind master hated to admit it, Lloyd was kind of right, he didn't really want to go hungry tonight either ,but he just didn't know if his pride could take f**king Lloyd feeding him. That would be more humiliating than getting defeated by that stupid water girl was.

Of course it's not like he wasn't already pretty humbled already considering thus far he had been, captured, chained,beat, and now this. Did it really matter anymore if his self worth dropped just a few more inches.

His stomach was definitely saying no it didn't, and Morro decided he might as well listen to it. So dragging his wounded ego, Morro slowly turning his head away from the wall and let his eyes fall on the warm bowl of soup before him.

Taking the clear invitation, Lloyd quickly, although still awkwardly used Morro's spoon to scoop up another serving of chicken stew and after adjusting the former ghost's head slightly with his hand much to Morro's chagrin, carefully began feeding the wind master. It didn't take long until the bowl was empty and Lloyd was able to take everything back to the kitchen.

Once that was done, Morro heard the sound of Lloyd walking back to the room. The wind master expected the green ninja to lie down on his bed, but was soon surprised when all that happened was Lloyd blew out the candle light that had been keeping the room from being submerged into complete darkness save for the moonlight coming from the window.

"I'll sleep on the couch so you can get to sleep more easily without me moving around so much in my sleep." The blonde explained before making his way towards the door and shutting it, leaving Morro completely alone in the dark.

The wind master stared at the door for several minutes with one thought remaining constant in his mind.

'I don't need your pity'


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This chapter features, talks of death, starvation, and child abuse

Koso ran steadily for about thirty miles all the way through the thick forestation surrounding the meadow and he was now in the process of making his way over the considerably smaller hills that resided beside the gargantitiun mountain range he originally entered from with that little blond brat on his back. It was as he was running at near inhuman speed, Koso noticed the sun sinking beneath the valley's horizon. As the moon rose, he came to the conclusion that it would be best for him to stop and make camp, since he was certain running blindly at his outrageous speed in the dark would almost certainly lead to him getting lost, or should his heightened senses fail him, an accidental injury (though it would not matter much if he did since, his skin was never easily pierced due to its sheer thickness that was a result of his dragon infused dna).

'Besides' Koso thought to himself as he slowed his running to a dead halt 'Now would most likely be a good time to address her' The black haired male let out a very audible sigh, " Alright, C'mon on out, I know you're there,...Greta" He said as he turned around to be met with the sight of the woman whose livelihood he had all but destroyed just a little while ago.

The old woman was dressed in simple brown cloak. Her eyes had bags under them that were undoubtedly a result of more than just her old age. She remained silent as Koso narrowed his reptilian eyes at her, before his stony expression broke into a fake charismatic grin.

"I'm actually quite surprised you managed to keep up with me."

Greta inhaled a deep breath before she replied. "Well, though it could never compare to yours my knowledge of sorcery has not been completely forgotten."

Koso stared at the old woman in surprise, he had expected a little more hostility to be present in her calm expression considering he had nearly killed her just weeks ago. Still even in the of his confusion Koso managed to speak. " I figured that. As well practiced in it as you were back then, I'd imagine it would be very hard for you to simply forget all that knowledge."

A moment of silence once again the pair, before Greta gathered her courage to say, " Koso,...As much as you might expect me to, I hold no grudge against you for what you did to my shop."

Koso scoffed in reply. "You say that as if I care."

Greta ignored him and continued on, " Koso, I ...I can't begin to imagine what you're feeling at the moment and I'm sure I wouldn't want to ,but what you're doing...it..it cannot continue."

Koso frowned flatly at the old woman. "So is that why you used magic to locate and follow me, to try and stop me?"

Hurt flashed in Greta's eyes as she replied. "You know I wish to do no such thing, if that were true, I would have waited until you were far away enough from that cottage and freed those boys."

Koso rolled his eyes. " Please, I knew where you were the second you came within a hundred miles of this place. Now I believe I didn't ask for your opinion on the matter, I asked what course of action you were going to take."

Greta looked to the ground as she sighed. " I truly don't understand why you're doing this. It won't change the past and I doubt it will bring you any peace! Besides, how do you think Tera feel about you're actions?"

The quiet exhale of her own breath was the old woman's only reply before she looked up, to see Koso's eyes filled with utter rage, though his calm expression didn't falter. After a second more of silence, Koso spoke through gritted teeth. " You have no right to speak her name."

Greta didn't realise how hurt those words made her feel until she was already shouting back at the man, "How can you say that?! I was her sister I have every right to say her na-"

"Oh yes the darling sister you turned out to be." Koso spat interrupting the old woman. " After all you took such good care of her daughter,..oh.. wait." He said flatly with biting sarcasm.

Greta inhaled, whilst looking once again at the ground. She was too old for this, this incredibly foolish arguing ,but even still, she found she just couldn't help herself, seeing this man, after so many years brought out so many feelings she had long since buried onto the surface to be exposed fully. They affected her so strongly, that she was thrown into emotional turmoil that clouded her mind and would not allow the most vicious retort she could think of to not pass her lips in a gentle murmur. "Well maybe, if her husband didn't get himself killed, her daughter wouldn't have been so consumed by misery to the point she threw her life away."

Greta gasped as the words left her mouth. When she looked up at the dark haired man once more she expected to see indescribable rage present on his face.

However, little had changed his previous calm expression. He looked so calm it was almost ominous. For what felt like the millionth time neither spoke to each other, as Greta's breathing was the only thing to fill the uncomfortable silence. Koso's eyes took on an aura of eeriness that made the old woman shrink back slightly when the straw hat wearing man crept towards her until they were only a small space apart.

Koso stared down at the old woman as he spoke.

"Yes, you're completely right, I'm very aware that had I still been alive Elizabeth would still be here." He admitted though, his cold tone did little to make the old woman feel any less weary. " However, I don't think it appropriate to blame me for that, after all, it's not as if I stabbed the sword into my chest myself. "

Greta's eyes widened and suddenly she felt her old stomach begin to ache. She had never been told about what truly happened that day Koso had dropped Elizabeth off at her home.

"I...I didn't know that's how it happened."

"Did my dear little brother not tell you all about it, or did you simply not care to ask?"

"Of course I cared and so did Elizabeth! It's just that,... he refused to speak of it. It saddened him greatly just to hear your name."

Koso couldn't stop an eye roll. "Yes, I'm sure he was just devastated after murdering me!"

Greta felt a small lump grow in her old throat as she looked once again at the ground. "Listen, Koso I, I don't want to fight you and I didn't come here to, I was hoping I could reason with you."

Koso sighed in reply. " Of course, I shouldn't be surprised you always were more for diplomacy than battle." The black haired man looked up at the moon hanging benevolently from the starless sky. "However, I'm afraid you're foolish if you believe I'm going to stop my plan now. Honestly I don't even know why you're so concerned, it's not as if I am trying to take over Ninjago, I am just giving those brats what they deserve. It's their birthright."

Greta sighed "Koso,...you've kidnapped two teenage boys, one of them has friends and family that desperately want him back. Besides that, he is the Green Ninja, the protector of Ninjago, without him there to lead his allies, Ninjago could fall into great p-"

"Peril, yes, yes, I'm familiar with that old diatribe." Koso said cutting her off. "A lot of expectations placed on the lad

isn't there? Anyway, forgive me, but I fail to see how him being gone for a little while will really affect Ninjago that much."

Greta narrowed her eyes.

"How long is a little while, Koso?"

The straw hat wearing man shrugged in reply. "I'm not exactly sure, really it depends on him and how long it will take him to summon, my-I mean his elemental power."

"And have you thought of what the ninja will do if they were to find this place?"

"Those fools? Please don't make me laugh Greta, you and I are both aware that I could easily put those brats in their place should they interfere."

Greta looked to the side, her head downcast. " Of course I am aware, that's why I didn't come into contact with them after you destroyed my shop."

Koso raised his chin slightly as he stared the old woman down. "Then is it safe for me to assume that you were not planning on revealing my location to them?"

The tired woman looked back at Koso her brown eyes gleaming. "No, Koso I am not so foolish." Greta paused to inhale, "However, as I stated before I was hoping we could come to a nonviolent solution."

"Pray do tell old friend, what 'solution' were you hoping for?" Koso asked skeptically as he folded his long arms across his broad chest.

"Well, I was thinking perhaps, you could be persuaded to at least agree to release Lloyd Garmadon should a new threat to Ninjago arise."

"...…."

"Koso, there was a time you cared about Ninjago as much as your brother did, is it really so much to ask that you keep the fate of this world in mind as you continue to hold its greatest protector hostage."

"...…perhaps" Koso said quietly.

_**Forgottenfamily** _

The atmosphere between the ninja as they flew their dragons out into the night in search of Lloyd was more than a little tense. They had been searching since morning throughout all of Ninjago city. None of them could find it within themselves to speak to each other about the continued failure they were met with everytime they checked a different place for their lost brother.

As Kai flew his dragon alongside his brothers', he decided to put his headphones on and start blasting some random pop song into them. Music had always helped the fire ninja whenever he needed to concentrate.

'Where are you Lloyd? We looked for you everywhere in Ninjago city, even the sewers!'

Kai took a deep breath as the song began to pick up in rhythm. 'Ok Kai, calm down this isn't the first time he's been possibly kidnapped,( not even the second or the third), and he's always come back just fine. Besides you haven't even looked outside of Ninjago city yet, he's got to be somewhere.' The red ninja thought to himself. 'Yeah, we'll find him, just like all the other times!'

_**ForgottenFamily** _

_The bright red color of the fruit's skin stood out like a sore thumb against the dreariness of that back alley. It contrasted even more against his dirt covered hands._

_He didn't think he had ever held something that looked so….beautiful._

_'What is this called again. A eipple, no that's not it,..oh well, food is food' He thought to himself. He had to run pretty fast in order to steal this. Thankfully the shop owner that was chasing him wasn't able to keep up with the agile legs of a ten year old. He was a little disappointed he had to drop that bread, but hey, he still had this! It was bright and shiny so it must be ten times more delicious! He felt so excited to take a big bite of the juicy looking fruit he didn't notice that a shadow was lurking beside him._

_He only realized there was someone near him when the shiny fruit he had in his grubby hands was suddenly snatched from his tight grasp. The thin boy looked up to see the stranger whose appearance was shrouded behind a large brown cloak, was now holding his prize in a very tight hold._

_The boy furrowed his eyebrows as he watched the stranger begin to turn away. Before he could stop himself, he said, "Hey! That's mine!" The person paid him no mind as they started to dart away._

_Something inside the boy urged him to run after the thief. He sprinted as fast as he could, until he was able to catch up with the stranger as the two of them ran further and further down the alley. Eventually the boy was able to snatch a handful of the person's cloak and managed to give it a powerful enough tug that they were sent tumbling onto the ground._

_Once the stranger was momentarily debilitated, the boy used this as his chance to launch himself onto them as he tried to wrestle the fruit out of their tight grasp._

_The two fought with each other with as much viciousness as two stray dogs, both trying their best to push the other onto the ground so they could claim dominance over the small fruit. The young boy was actually surprised out how much he was matching this person's strength who was at least a foot taller than him. It felt like he was fighting another ten year old. It went on like this for a little while longer before finally the stranger managed to land a hit on the boys face that sent him flying backwards. The young gave a small gasp as he fell against the opposite wall of the narrow alley._

_When he looked up, he saw that the perpetrator's hood had fallen down and he was a teenage boy a little older than him, he looked like one of the guys that would push him around and steal parts of his food whenever he managed to steal some. The teenager picked up the fruit from the ground not caring that it was slightly dirty now. His hungry eyes bored into his prize like a predator would its prey and then it was as if time itself had slowed for the young boy he had stolen it from as the teenager took a giant juicy bite. It was such a big bite only about half of the fruit remained after he assaulted it. For a moment the teenager looked as if he had just been allowed into heaven as his eyes gleamed over with unbelievable satisfaction._

_Meanwhile, the boy on the ground's face twisted into a horrified expression as he watched. Suddenly the bruises he had sustained earlier when the shopkeeper tried throwing stones at him in an effort to slow him down hurt a lot more as did his aching feet that he put through the torture of running over endless loose nails and sharp rocks. His stomach hurt the most though. It ached with the kind of hunger he was all too familiar with._

_Then suddenly an anger he had not felt before erupted inside him as a mantra of 'It's not fair' began to be recited inside his head, gaining more and more volume each repeat. The boy's face morphed into an enraged expression as he shot to his feet._

_The teenager meanwhile had just begun to take his second bite. He never got to though...because before he could the boy he had defeated just mere moments ago had now launched himself onto the teenager's shoulders and knocked him to the ground on his front. The boy then proceeded to wrap his fingers into the teenager's hair before he began to slam his face into the pavement, hard. The young boy repeated this action over and over and over and over and over again. The teen had tried to struggle ,but for some reason was unable to push him off. The boy didn't care though, all that he cared about was bashing the guy's face into the ground as hard as could. This action repeated for so long the boy began to feel his arms tire. His anger began to recede and he soon stopped. The young boy took deep breaths in order to calm his racing heart beat. Then a familiar flash of red caught his eye._

_The boy had been so lost in his rage he had forgotten the source of his anger. The fruit still retained its beautiful red color that made his mouth water despite it's missing section. The boy reached out to grab a hold of the fruit._

_Whilst he held it up to his face the boy closed his eyes as he took his own giant bite out of the fruit._

_It was amazing, more delicious than anything he had tasted before. It was rich and juicy and wonderful! The boy became so lost in its amazing flavor that, he didn't notice the thief that had tried to steal it from him, was not moving._

_He didn't notice that simple fact until he had taken the last bite of the small fruit and he had stood up. The boy was going to just run off now, but something inside him, made him feel uneasy about leaving the teenager here like this. Something just seemed off. After a moment of inner, debate the boy decided to take small step towards the fallen teenager and reach out a hand towards him._

_The boy's heart beat once again to pick up as his hand came into contact with the teen's neck. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but he thought if he could just see the older boy's face…._

_As he turned the teenager's face upwards, away from the dirty ground, what he saw made him not feel very well._

_The older boy's face was smashed in, with blood running out numerous giant gashes caused by being thrown against the rocky pavement. His eyes were open,but…..they looked….empty. As if….As if…As if…..._

_'NO! Nonononononononononononononono!' The boy thought in his panicked mind. 'You can't be dead! No please please please please don't be dead!'_

_The boy couldn't bear to look at the teenager's face anymore and he had to yank his hand away. As he did this though, the sleeve of his worn shirt got caught on the teenager's cloak and as a consequence was pulled away from the dead older boy's body with the young boy's hand._

_The sight the boy was met with made the fruit he had consumed earlier rise to his throat, threatening to spill out onto the pavement. The only thing clothing his body was a short dirty cloth tied around his waist. The term skin and bones was an understatement concerning the dead teenager's body, his entire rib cage was visible as was his spine and his legs looked like twigs. As the boy looked upon his pale skin that was dotted everywhere with blue and purple bruises, he found that he couldn't contain the bile rising in his throat._

_In a disgusting display, the young boy threw up, more than just the fruit he had consumed, but a whole week's worth of scraps. When he finished after what felt like an eternity he found he couldn't remain there a second longer._

_Without a second glance, the boy sprinted away as fast as he could, not caring that tears were beginning to cloud his vision. From that moment on, as much as he would try to push this awful, awful memory to the deep recesses of his mind, he would always be haunted with the knowledge that he murdered someone,...over an apple._

"Morro Wake Up!"

The wind master jolted awake, his body was covered in sweat and felt like he had been just fished out of the ocean. With the phantom memory he had lived through again, forgotten and pushed back down into his subconscious where it belonged, Morro looked around the small bedroom to see where the source of his awakening had come from.

Lloyd was standing in the doorway, looking somewhat….frazzled?

"What's goi-

"We have a problem!"


	16. Chapter 15

**(art depiction from last chapter done by the fantastic Etchy-a-Sketchy on Tumblr)**

"What do you mean we have a problem?!" Morro yelled, instantly regretting it because not long after his body felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives in a thousand different places on his person.

"What do you think I mea- just,-never mind!" Lloyd shouted back before taking in a deep, exasperated breath. Then the blonde did something that REALLY surprised Morro. He walked over to the bed bound wind master and began wrapping the bed's blankets around him like he was a burrito.

"What the f**k do you think you're doing!" Morro shouted, unable to struggle due to the sheer pain he was experiencing.

Lloyd didn't reply until he was finished and then stepped back from the bed to survey his work. " Look, I just, if things happen to get out of hand- it's just a precaution OK!" The green ninja explained haphazardly. " For now I need you to STAY put and don't try to move or do anything stupid, while I deal with this, you...you get me?"

Before Morro could reply, Lloyd had already begun heading out the room, whilst closing the bedroom door behind him "Ok great, glad you understand, just know that whatever you hear on the other side of this door, I-I I've got it under control." The blonde said, with a less than subtle lack of confidence.

"WAIT! DON'T YOU DAR-"

The bedroom door was already slammed shut before Morro could finish, and all Lloyd could hear of the wind master after that was muffled cursing. The blonde then turned around and began slowly tip toe back to the kitchen where the 'problem' was residing, or more specifically the giant,snarling wolf like creature that was balancing itself on the kitchen table. The beast was covered in pitch black fur and had bright blue eyes and huge, razor sharp teeth that it was currently using to crush the bones of an unfortunate chicken that it had snagged from the backyard when it somehow found a way past the barrier. Lloyd had no idea how this thing got inside or where it came from. All he knew was when he had woken up that morning (back slightly sore from sleeping on the uncomfortable couch) he was met with the sight of a gigantic wolf in the kitchen and now he had to do something and fast before,...before...well, before he was eaten or something like that. So steeling his nerves, Lloyd carefully made his way towards the animal as it swallowed the last of its meal down its ginormous throat. The wolf looked up immediately when Lloyd came within two feet of it. Its amazingly bright blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as if it were thinking about what to do about the green ninja. Sucking in a deep breath Lloyd began to speak,

"Ok, ok you had your meal, now...now go on," The wolf simply licked its lips in reply as it stared dead straight at the green ninja. Lloyd let out a nervous sigh. "C'mon, n-nice, uh doggy, let's go outside now." The blonde emphasized his point by gesturing to the open front door the wolf had ripped open upon its entry. The wolf looked to it briefly before once again fixing its eyes on Lloyd once more. Then it hopped down from the table and began to slowly make its way towards Lloyd. The blonde began to back, as his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He didn't want to do this, but...the green ninja charged a small ball of green energy in his hands as he began to try to speak to the approaching animal with a stern tone. "Hey. HEY! Listen, you need to stop, right now. I don't want to hurt you but-" Lloyd was not able to finish, because within the next second the wolf pounced on him and knocked him to the ground with a loud thud. The energy ball Lloyd had created, because it wasn't given enough power simply dissipated upon impact.

"H-Hey!" The blonde shouted. He felt his heart rate quicken when the wolf's face came close to his. The blonde turned his face to the side clenching his eyes shut. For a fraction of a second all he could think was 'I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieThisiswhereIdie!' The animal's mouth began to open, and Lloyd was sure he was going to get bitten, however instead of having his face torn off, all the green ninja's facial features were met with was the sticky and wet feeling of being licked in the face.

The blonde's eyes shot open as he turned his head back to face the wolf that had just licked him.

"W-what just hap-" Lloyd was cut off as it licked him on the nose.

Suddenly the wolf didn't seem as threatening and appeared to the blonde more as an excited puppy. It even began to sniff him as if he were its long lost owner. It kind of tickled.

"Hahahaha,no ,no hahah stop, STOP PLEASE!" The wolf simply ignored him and continued its inspection of him. For whatever reason, after a few seconds the animal seemed satisfied that Lloyd was trustworthy and began nuzzling its muzzle against his neck. The green ninja could not stop himself from letting out a little chuckle, both from relief and the fact that the wolf was honestly kind of adorable now that it wasn't trying to rip out his throat.

Apparently the sound of his laughter was audible through the door to his and Morro's 'room' because within the next second he heard Morro's voice calling out to him.

"Hey! What's going on!?"

The wolf's head instantly shot up at the wind master's shouting and before Lloyd could stop it, the animal jumped up and all ,but threw itself against the bedroom door, and of course due to the wolf's sheer size it easily tore the door open, almost knocking it off its hinges in the process. As it bounded into the room, Lloyd followed after it with arms out reached in an attempt to catch it before the wolf did broke something again. (Most likely Morro).

The black haired boy looked as shocked as Lloyd had been when he first saw the huge creature.

"What the F**k is that?!"

"I don't know, it just got in here somehow!" Lloyd explained as he ran in front of the animal hoping to deter it from coming towards the injured wind master.

"Now, l-listen doggy you can't go near him, he's weak, c'mon you have to g-"

"Weak! Say that again you f***head!" Morro yelled, as he tried to sit his aching body up within the confines of the blanket burrito Lloyd had trapped him in earlier.

The wolf's eyes widened at the sound of Morro's voice and now seemed interested even more in making contact with the wind master. Then with amazing agility the animal jumped high above Lloyd and landed on the bed with a loud thump.

The green ninja's eyes widened as he wondered how the bed hadn't completely broken.

Morro immediately glared at the animal as it began to near him, meanwhile Lloyd tried to persuade the dog to get off the bed.

"C'mon doggy you don't want to be near him, he sucks."

"Hey! Get the f**k away!" Morro shouted at it. The wolf remained undeterred and slowly ,but surely crept towards Morro until it had him in the same position it did Lloyd not just a minute ago. Morro felt like he wanted to scream as his already sore bones were now being crushed under the weight of the giant wolf. He could do little to struggle because his body was already in enough pain as it was. Lloyd stared at the scene with frantic wide eyes unsure of what to do because the animal was so heavy he knew he couldn't lift or drag it off.

The wolf stared down at the wind master with unblinking eyes before reaching its muzzle down to rest lightly against Morro's neck. "Hey Hey you stay away from me!" Morro shouted in its face. The wind master felt as if he were about to explode as it ignored him and then gave him a big fat lick all the way from his neck up to his mouth. If Morro had had his body to its full capacity he would have drained all the air out the creature's lung in an instant. However as helpless as he was at the moment all he could do was let out a loud groan mixed of both pain and pure rage. The animal seemed to notice the wind master's distress through the sound though, and very quickly got off his broken body. Morro might have felt relief, had the wolf not then laid down right next to him and rested its large head over his neck as it cuddled against him.

Morro wished he could move his arms properly so he could strangle the animal while Lloyd let out a sigh of relief thankful the wolf did not seem to do much damage to Morro's all ,but crippled body. Still the blonde felt the need to make sure the black haired boy was alright, "Are you oka-"

" I wish I had just let Koso hit you instead." Morro said quietly with more than enough seriousness present in his tone to convince Lloyd he meant it.

ForgottenFamily

Koso wasn't quite sure how Greta knew he needed the ingredients for a healing spell, but never the less a part of him was grateful he now didn't have to make the three day long journey after all because spending more than one night sleeping on the ground was not something he enjoyed.

'So, if a threat large enough comes to Ninjago I am to release that blonde brat, hmph, guess I'll have to train him and the other one fast before that happens' He casually thought to himself as he quickly ran his way back to the cottage. When he came within sight of his humble home, he was less than pleased to find his front door had been ripped open. Then when the dark haired male stepped inside he was even less pleased to see in the distance that his kitchen looked as if it had been ransacked, with the table covered in blood and feathers and scratch markings all over the floor and walls.

'If this is the brats' doing I swear I shall pound them into next we-'

"C'mon doggy don't you want to go back outside?"

"Would you stop calling it 'doggy' you sound like a girl!"

"Oh, I,...I guess you're right Morro, maybe I should try cursing at it, maybe that will surely get it to come down!"

Koso blinked confusedly for a minute after the shouting interrupted him from his thoughts. 'Doggy? What is going on?' Acting on impulse the brother of the first spinjitzu master all ,but stormed into the two brats' room. What he saw both shocked him and made his blood boil at the same time. As Lloyd and Morro looked at the man surprised to see him, when all of the sudden they heard a low growl. Koso stared at the animal with complete contempt reflecting in his dark green eyes.

'That bloody creature! Why did it have to still be alive after all these years.'

Then all of the sudden the wolf leapt from its spot on the bed so that it stood in front of Koso, after a beat of tense silence it jumped against the black haired male landing its paws just below Koso's shoulders. The look the creature was giving him, made Lloyd feel as if the two were somehow long time rivals in another life. The green ninja could of sworn he heard Koso holding back a growl of his own.

"Alright boy." 'So its a boy dog.' Lloyd thought as Koso spoke. "You had your fun, tearing my home apart now,DOWN!" Koso commanded. The wolf reluctantly obeyed. However before Lloyd could begin to think that perhaps Koso simply had a commanding way over everyone and everything he came into contact with, the animal proceeded to latch his teeth onto the man's black bandage covered arm. While both Lloyd and Morro could not stop themselves from cringing, Koso simply stared down at the animal unflinchingly as if it were a minor annoyance

"Oh? What did you think that would hurt? Stupid beast. Let. Go." To emphasis his point he used his arm that was currently not being used as a chew toy and flicked the back of his hand against the wolf's nose. However this did not affect him enough to let go, although he did let out a small whine that once again reminded Lloyd of a small puppy. "JASPER! I mean it, or do you want to me to turn you into a mouse? Well?" This statement finally convinced 'Jasper' to let go of Koso's arm, though Lloyd could still see the hate he had for the black haired male reflected in his blue pupils.

'You and me both doggy.' The blonde thought to himself before deciding now would be a good time to question what the freak was going on.

"So,...you have a pet?"

"PET, is a very nice term for this,...annoyance." Koso explained. "To be honest I prefer to refer to him as a, pest that I now unfortunately cannot get rid of ,because the spirit of my wife would surely be devasted beyond reasonable measure and send all the divine forces of the world to reek vengeance upon me."

Both the green ninja and wind master stared shocked at the man as a single question simultaneously escape both their lips.

"YOU HAD A WIFE?!"


	17. Chapter 16

"Yes, I had a wife why do you sound so surprised?" Koso asked with a genuinely confused look upon his face.

"Uh cause you're an awful person who kidnaps kids?" Lloyd said as if it were more obvious a truth than the sky is blue. "Plus you're ugly." Morro added, just to be spiteful to the man who had caused him to be in so much pain.

Koso narrowed his eyes in the direction of the bed bound teenager.  
"Careful with that tongue of yours, remember I have the key to end your suffering." To emphasis his point the straw hat wearing man raised up a brown paper bag, that presumably had the ingredients to the antidote.

"Hurry up then! I can't stand being like this a second longer!" Morro snapped back before groaning at the strain he put his body through yet again.

"Well I will... as soon as my kind great nephew cleans up the mess in the kitchen so I have room to brew the antidote." Koso replied before heatedly staring Lloyd down.

The green ninja gulped before nodding his head and hurriedly heading out the bedroom door and getting to his task.

"My cloth towels are under the sink!" Koso called out as he too left the room ,but not before fixing a stern look upon, his apparent not pet, Jasper.

"You. Ever. Pull a stunt like that again, I will personally make sure you can never have children."

The wolf fixed Koso with his own heated glare in reply ,but did not make a sound of disagreement. That was enough to satisfy the green eyed male so he simply walked out of the room leaving Morro and Jasper alone.

The wind master narrowed his eyes at the wolf as Jasper turned his attention from the doorway Koso had just occupied back to Morro.

"Don't-"

Morro was promptly cut off when the wolf jumped onto the joined twin beds and went back to lying his large muzzle back upon the wind master's neck as he curled up against the injured former ghost. Letting out a defeated sigh, Morro muttered.

"I. hate. all of you."

_**Forgottenfamily** _

"So, that thing,...I mean, you said his name was Jasper, he was your wife's, uh pet?" Lloyd asked as he began scrubbing up the chicken blood from the kitchen table.

"Correct, now stop talking and use more elbow grease." Koso commented absentmindedly in reply as he inspected his broken front door.

'That fiendish mutt! How you were ever so fond of him, Tera I'll never know.' The straw hat wearing man thought as he began to plan on looking for a spell to fix the damage, either that or have the two brats do it.

"So, he's a wolf right?" Lloyd asked aloud.

"Jasper's part of an ancient Ninjagian canine breed called the Nira wolves, they were very rare in my day and I'd guess that they still are today. His kind tend to live in secluded caves and underground tunnels. If I were a man of luck that mutt would follow the rest of his species' example ,but no he just had to come back here, and now of all times."

Lloyd tried best to hide his smirk at Koso's rant, thinking that revenge, now matter how small was rather sweet.

"So his kind must also have a really long life span then, sense you're technically like what, ninety?"

Koso couldn't help a small sigh from escaping him as he replied. " Actually ninety -two if we're aiming for procession, but yes his kind can have a life span ranging from two to three hundred years."

Lloyd found himself arching an eyebrow before asking. "How do you,...know so much about animals, I mean first the fish, and ...now this?"

Koso frowned slightly at the question. "Oh?"

The straw hat wearing man felt caught off guard slightly. "Truthfully I had not realized I was droning on that much,...I suppose I just remmbered it, because my wife, Tera was her name if you were curious, she loved looking at and studying all sorts of animals, and she never stopped talking about the new species she discovered to me." Koso explained with a hint of fondness in his voice that Lloyd did not believe he could possess.

"So then, your wif- uh Tera, was she a zoologist?"

"If by that you mean, someone so obsessed with all the animals she came across that she wrote journals on top of journals about them and came up with ridiculous names for them, then yes Tera was a zoologist."

While Lloyd's face remained passive as he scrubbed the blood from the table, inside he was whirling with flooding confusion that he had surpressed after his failed escape attempt.

'Urghhhh Is this guy really my great uncle?! He just sounds so geniune, and if he has the mental capabilities to cast spells, then he can't be crazy, can he?! Plus he's really really f**king powerful!'

It was at this moment another worry worked its way into the blonde's mind. What would have to be done about Morro, once(if) this was all taken care of. He would have to be imprisoned, right? He was a criminal, responsible for almost cursing all of Ninjago into a hellish nightmare! As the blonde thought of the former ghost's past crimes, another thought crept its way into his mind.

'And he's the reason dad's- No! no don't think about that!' Lloyd scolded himself whilst shaking his head. 'There's nothing you can do about what he is now! It's not even him! Just an ugly allusion of him!' To escape his inner turmoil, the green ninja decided to focus his attention on scrubbing all of the blood from the kitchen table and picking up the piles of feathers scattered on the ground.

'None of that matters right now!' Lloyd told himself. 'Focus on the present Lloyd, what I need do now is start finding a way out of here, or at least getting a message out to the bounty.'

Daring to hope, Lloyd wondered if it was possible Zane's falcon would happen to fly over the mountain valley and see them. That was unlikely though, considering that robotic bird had specific flight patterns programmed into it, that usually didn't include rocky terrains, on account of Zane's pragmatic fear its reflex defenses would not be quick enough to avoid jagged high mountain peaks.

'But maybe he'll adjust the settings, so it'll have a better chance of finding me' Lloyd concluded hopefully, despite it only being two weeks the blonde was beginning to have a new appreciation for the company of his brothers and sister. After spending two weeks with a constantly snide old man and bitter fellow teenager, Lloyd was so desperate for some positive company he had honestly felt overjoyed when Jasper had acted so sweetly upon their first meeting.

Once all the chicken blood and feathers were all cleaned up, Lloyd turned back to Koso who was still looking at the broken door. "Hey uh, I finished."

Quickly looking up, Koso offered a slight nod in reply. "Very well, I'll get started on the antidote it shouldn't take longer than half an hour to make."

Lloyd nodded back awkwardly in reply. "O-ok."

When Koso moved into the kitchen, Lloyd took that as his que to leave. He might have thought to stay around and watch because knowing how to make a healing potion would be something incredibly useful to know in the future ,but the intimidating look Koso was shooting him made the blonde believe it was best to leave the green eyed man alone.

'He probably works best without someone watching him.' Lloyd guessed as he retreated into his and Morro's room.

_**Forgottenfamily** _

When Morro heard Lloyd walk into the room he immediately started talking.

"Is that fuc- uh antidote ready yet?!"

"Koso said it'll be done in half an hour." Lloyd said as he sat down on the joined beds and gently rubbed a hand upon Jasper's head. The nira wolf hummed contentedly as he leaned his large muzzle more heavily upon Morro's neck.

The wind master's nose twitched slightly as Jasper's fur was pushed against it. Then the former ghost did something that no one would ever expect in a thousand years of him to do.

He sneezed.

It wasn't a loud a or obnoxious sneeze, but was instead rather quiet and almost timid.

Lloyd could not stop a loud chuckle from escaping him as Morro shot a nasty glare his way.

"What's so funny?!"

"Nothing." The green ninja said tersely when he managed to gain control over himself. "I just cannot believe that I actually used to be afraid of you." Lloyd said with a condescending shrug.

The former ghost snarled back in response. "When I get my mobility back you better watch-"

"So I have a question." Lloyd said cutting the wind master off. The former ghost looked at the green ninja skeptically. "Who says I want to answer you."

"C'mon don't be f**king childish. " Lloyd said quietly so Koso wouldn't hear him.

Morro's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Did you just...cuss?!"

The blonde rolled his eyes in reply as he let out a small sigh. "Is it really that surprising, I'm not a toddler."

"No, you're the perfect little naïve green ninja who everyone loves because he's so completely innocent and good." Morro rattled off sarcastically.

"Innocent is a strong word, you do know I released the serpentine and almost got Ninjago destroyed by the great devourer."

"You were a kid doesn't count." The wind master shot back immediately, with a look in his eyes that suggested to Lloyd he used that excuse more than once to justify someone's actions, probably his own.

"You're one to talk, I mean you look pretty innocent right now with your new buddy."

"Shut up. What was that stupid question you wanted to ask?" Morro asked obviously trying to get away from the subject of his very vulnerable position.

"Well, umm" Lloyd hesitated slightly before just letting the question spill out.

"W-what's the departed realm like?"


	18. Chapter 17

"Why... why do you want to know?" Morro asked the blonde, with an almost nervous confusion clear in his voice.

"I just do, ok." Lloyd replied defensively.

The wind master stared at the green ninja skeptically. After what seemed like hours to Lloyd ,but was in reality only a few minutes Morro spoke.

"I just,...I don't really understand why it matters."

"If it doesn't matter then you can just tell me about it?"

"Why are you all the sudden so curious?"

"I- ok fine so look, I don't know about you ,but I think this whole situation is beyond insane." The green ninja threw his arms up in the air in a dramatic gesture. " I mean, c'mon! We're being held captive by a man who says he's my great uncle, the brother of the first spinjitzu master, and also that we are somehow f**king related."

"Yeah, I know it's like you said he's some insane sorcere-"

",But that's the thing!" Lloyd exclaimed in a raspy whisper. "You saw it like I did, it wasn't that f**king sword that was giving him his power, he had all of that just by himself!"

"Yeah I know what does this have to do wi-"

"So," the blonde continued over Morro. "I'm beginning to believe that maybe just maybe, he might be...telling the truth."

"...really?" The wind master asked with a voice that should have held more surprise, but was instead more dead panned then anything.

"Well yeah really!" Lloyd exclaimed softly. "Look, my point is that, he says he was dead for sixty years right? So If that's true than he must remember what the after life was like, so I thought that, maybe if I asked you about the departed realm I could ask him later too, and if his answers aligned with yours then..."

"Then you'd know that... it's all true."

"Yeah, that's the basic idea anyway."

"oh "A pregnant pause settled between the two of them. The wind master felt his stomach twist slightly, as he hesitantly began to speak. "I,..I guess it be interesting to know if the f**ker's insane or not." The former ghost admitted. Another beat of silence fell between the teenagers, then, the green striped haired boy spoke once more.

"Well, uh I guess, umm, it was really dark." Morro finally spit out. "Dark and I don't know how to explain it ,but we'll everything just felt...weightless, like, I wasn't even there ,but was...that doesn't make sense I know, it's just, you ever feel like you're barely awake and you can't really tell what's going on so it's all just a...blur?" Morro asked quietly as he finally finished his nonsensical ramble. Jasper let out a small whine as he curled his body tighter against Morro.

'Seriously what is it with this thing, it's like he thinks I'm his teddy bear.' The wind master thought as Lloyd cupped his chin thoughtfully. "So uh, what was it like when you were resurrected then? How did it feel?"

"Yeah, it was like,.. well the best way I can phrase it is, it was like falling from a really high cliff." The wind master explained.

"Oh? That's...neat?"

The wind master averted eye contact and waited for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I- Well when it happened I honestly just thought it was all just a dream I was having as my body continued to float through the departed realm." Lloyd couldn't help ,but wonder if maybe the wind master still believed that to be true, and that was the reason for his constant apathetic attitude.

"then I suddenly woke up, floating in some water." 'Probably in the ocean near Stixx' Lloyd thought to himself. "I-I don't really remember much after that, I was only awake for a second then everything went dark, and...well next thing I know I'm being woken up by you."

The green ninja took a second to process all of this information, then another question suddenly came to mind and spilled from his lips before he could stop it.

"Was it like when you came back on Day of the Departed?" As soon as Lloyd said it, he kind of wished he hadn't, simply for the fact he was not wanting to talk about certain things that happened that night.

_**ForgottenFamily** _

Lloyd felt his heart drop into his stomach as he laid eyes on the moving plastic husk that held the soul of his former enemy. It was jarring to say the least to witness the ghost animate the statue effortlessly to the point the green ninja wouldn't be able differentiate his current appearance from the one pictured in Lloyd's memory, were it not for the way Morro's present body reflected the city lights off it, due to its synthetic texture.

'Well he has had practice possessing bodies that aren't his.' Lloyd thought bitterly.

Needless to say the green ninja was thankful the wind master took little time in getting to the point and telling them where Cole was being kept and what Sensei Yang's plan was. He was very ready to bolt with the rest of his friends when suddenly he heard his plastic bodied former enemy called out to him.

"Hey, uh Lloyd, wait." The blonde arched an eyebrow, as he looked over his shoulder at Morro. The wind master was fiddling with his plastics hands, as he looked down at the pavement. The green ninja was slightly surprised to see this rare display of what could only be described as shyness coming his former enemy. Allowing his eyes to dart to his sensei who stood with his arms crossed as he stood behind Morro, Lloyd saw Wu giving him a stern look that might as well have said 'Let him speak.' Then the old man briskly walked away leaving the two alone.

Suddenly wishing his brothers and sister had not been able to run off so fast so they could offer moral support, Lloyd begrudgingly turned around to face his former foe.

"What is it?" The green ninja asked sharply.

"I-I just wanted to say that, I shouldn't have done what I did to you, it was wrong and I'm sorry." The statue possessing ghost spat out quickly.

The stifling silence that fell between them was more than a little tense, with Lloyd staring Morro down with unreadable expression upon his face.

Then the blonde spoke. "Ok?"

Morro's plastic eyes slightly widened before narrowing and looking towards the ground as his synthetic mouth formed into a tight lipped line. For a reason he could not identify the green ninja felt his momentary fear dissolve into the overwhelming anger that was beginning to fill his entire being.

"I just, I know that I really hurt yo-"

"Yeah you really f**king did." Lloyd snapped cutting Morro off. "and, sorry if you thought that some half a**ed apology was going to make me forgive all the s**t you put me through."

"Well I know, I just-"

"Look." Lloyd said once again cutting Morro off. His rage felt as if it were water gushing from an open faucet. "I know that Sensei probably told you that, by apologizing to me, you'd be able to make amends or whatever, and now you did, great ,but if you thought, even for a second that I was going to roll over and forgive you for everything just because you said 'sorry' you're wrong

"I-

"and you know why, it's cause I have had to deal with so much s**t because of you, I had to make a lantern for my dead dad because of what you did!"

Before the wind master could reply, Lloyd sharply spat. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go save my brother."

Before the blonde turned his back on Morro, he saw the ghost's plastic face break from the feigned nervous and shocked guise he held not just a moment ago and morph into an utterly offended and angry facial expression.

"Well...fine! F**k you! I don't even care! I just said that so sens- Wu would get off my back." The spirit shouted back. The blonde could imagine the ghost mashing his synthetic teeth together.

Lloyd rolled his eyes as he continued walking away. "Yeah, cool. Enjoy your Day of the Departed, maybe Sensei will remember to make you a lantern next year."

**ForgottenFamily**

"Well, that was kind of like the same thing." Morro spoke breaking Lloyd from his thoughts. "Except, when I was being, uh taken from the Departed Realm, it felt more like I was being pulled along, into some sort of tornado."

The green ninja was surprised at the lack of reaction the wind master showed at the mention Day of the Departed. It appeared to have no affect on the former ghost at all as if he didn't even remember their brief encounter.

'Whatever' Lloyd said to himself, 'Remember none of that matters right now.'

Despite telling himself this, the green ninja's mind could not stop itself from wandering to thoughts he'd really rather not have.

'But,...if he's related to me...'

'If we're stuck here till we can summon this hidden element we didn't know we possessed...'

'What if,...when/if we can summon this power, what will Morro do with it? What if he breaks out of his 'don't care' funk and decides to some f**ked up s***t again! '

The blonde quickly shook his head rapidly hoping, that these thoughts would fall out of his head if he did it hard enough. No,..if something like that would be even close to happening, Lloyd would make d**n sure to stop Morro before he could even blink.

After all Lloyd was the green ninja.

ForgottenFamily

Koso stretched his long arms as he leaned back. The antidote was nearly finished all that was left was for it heat up on the stove for fifteen minutes. The straw hat wearing man put a hand to his face as he let out a loud sigh. "Those two have certainly been a handful."

All the trouble he went through and still they callously gossiped about him as if they weren't aware that he could hear their endless chatter through the thin walls. Koso found it especially amusing that Morro couldn't seem to recall who had graciously saved him from drowning

_**Forgottenfamily** _

_"Well this is interesting" Koso said to himself aloud, as he watched the floating body sink beneath the waves in the distance._

_The green eyed man had felt his newly resurrected body tell him to come to this ocean, going on a hunch, that this boy was a relative of his Koso acted quickly and tore his white cloak, straw hat and sword off and dove into the water. With his half dragon DNA aiding him, Koso quickly swam through the freezing water towards the drowning boy._

_It didn't take too long to reach him thankfully and due to the boy's light weight Koso was able to grab him under his arms with ease and bring them both towards the surface._

_After that is was a simple task to swim back towards the shore Koso had previously occupied. As the black haired male treaded onto the course sand, he moved the boy in his arms so that he was carrying him bridal style. As the moonlight shined upon the pair like a spotlight, Koso looked down at the boy in his arms, and paused momentarily as his red rimmed eyes noticed the bright neon stripe that stuck out in the boy's hair like a lake in a desert. In that moment the image of a young woman with short curly chestnut brown hair standing barefoot in the sunlight with a little girl in her arms who bore locks identical to his own save for a lone green stripe staining her hair like a splotch of paint entered the dark haired man's mind and he suddenly was positive the boy was one of his descendants._

_Coming back to reality, Koso strode away from the shore and into the small wood that stood not too far away from the ocean before carefully laying the child onto the thick grass._

_Wasting no time, Koso quickly checked the boy's pulse and was slightly relieved to find he hadn't been too late in his rescue attempt. The next thing he decided to focus was to take this opportunity to inspect his relative for any injury he might have sustained upon his fall and near drowning._

_Lifting the boy's torn shirt up slightly Koso found nothing more than a vast amount of old scars on the youth's small body. Checking the boy's lower half as well, Koso found no injury there either, although as he got a closer look the black haired man was slightly displeased to see that the boy wore an old gi that had clearly out grown him long ago. Due to its low coverage of his body, the boy began to shiver and tremble under the harsh breeze that began blowing their way from out on the ocean._

_'I wonder what your story holds' Koso thought to himself._

_Koso stared at the boy with a tight lipped frown upon his face before deciding to wrap his white cloak around the green striped haired boy then lift him into his arms and throwing the child over his shoulder like a sack of flower._

_Then the black haired man began to walk off into the darkness of the night._


	19. Chapter 18

Kai knew one of them would eventually come looking for him when he didn't return to the bounty last night, he knew they would tell him he needed to come back and rest before he couldn't maintain his energy dragon any longer and pass out from exhaustion, he knew they would argue with him when he shouted back that he needed to find Lloyd.

However what the red ninja did not expect was what would be told to him after. " Kai, Zane and Nya had the falcon contact me, they said that they found tea shop woman...and she says she knows what happened to Lloyd." Cole said to the spikey haired ninja, as he flew his large dragon next to him. "We need to head back to the bounty now."

After a beat of silence Kai slowly nodded. "..Ok"

_**ForgottenFamily** _

"Its,...complicated to say the least." Greta explained to the colorfully dressed teenagers who stood before her.

"Pardon me ma'am," Zane spoke up. "But you informed us that you know what happened to our brother, Lloyd Garmadon."

The old woman nodded slowly. "That I do."

"Do you know where he is?" Kai asked, stepping towards her. Greta looked into the fire wielder's amber eyes that reflected the clear anxiety he felt concerning his missing comrade. Then she replied.

"I apologize I don't know where your younger brother is, but I do know that Lloyd is in no danger. He is completely safe."

"What?!" The red ninja demanded. "What's happened to him?"

Greta let out a small sigh of sympathy as she stared into the worried eyes of each colorfully dressed teenager. "Listen, my reason for coming here wasn't to help you find him, all I can tell you is that the green ninja has been taken somewhere, somewhere safe I promise you, and he is currently being looked after by a,...well an old friend of mine."

Jay arched an eyebrow as his eyes widened at the old woman, "Are you talking about the guy that attacked sensei, is he the same one that destroyed your tea shop?"

"Well,...yes he is, however I can assure you that he is of no danger any longer."

"What does that mean?" Cole asked incredulously.

"I...I was able to reason with him, and I swear to all of you that he has absolutely no intention of harming your younger brother."

"Who even is this guy!?" Jay shouted

Greta lowered her eyes to the ground. "It's a very long story and one I am afraid I cannot reveal to you, at least now you all are simply not ready for it."

Kai angrily stomped towards the old woman as he replied. "listen here, our brother is missing and we need to find him. Can't you understand tha-"

Before the fire wielding ninja could finish his sentence, out of nowhere Greta's form disappeared from their field of vision and was now nowhere to be found in the room.

_**ForgottenFamily** _

'That probably wasn't the best idea. I knew it would cause trouble talking to the ninja, they'll no doubt come to look for me, to find answers.' The old woman thought quietly ,but she also knew it would have been so cruel to leave them thinking their poor little brother was being tortured by some devious captor, or ...worse. 'Poor children, they must have searched tirelessly to find him these past two weeks. If only I had been able to remember how to cast those spells sooner.' Greta thought to herself as she now stood near the sight of her destroyed shop, the old woman walked about the scattered remains of her business hoping maybe some of her teas were still salvageable.

Unfortunately all she could fish from the wreckage were a couple of herbal medicine teas that usually only sold for a couple dollars.

'I suppose I need to call Hank and ask him to let me stay with him for a while, I'm sure he and Nathan will be happy to know I'm alright. Maybe tomorrow I can get Hank to bring his truck here and he'll get his older boys to help find more of my teas. Nathan can even pitch in. ' Greta theorized to herself. Hopefully her son wouldn't be to keen on asking a thousand questions about where she had been and who that man who destroyed her shop was.

The old woman grimaced at the thought of him using that stern expression he often used on Nathan to get him to confess a misdeed on her, his own mother! Wanting to put that event off for now the old woman decided to use one of her old tea carts as a temporary stool and take a small rest to sit down as she surveyed the large piles of debris that had been her tea shop and thought of everything from her past that had been dragged to the surface those past two weeks.

How did it all come to this?

The man she could once call a surrogate brother had been changed so drastically she could no longer recognize him. Of course who could part blame on him, she had failed him in an unforgivable way. The old woman put a hand to her face as she closed her eyes and let out an exhausted sigh. Departed realm help her, Tera must be so disappointed in her. This,...this was all her fault. She should have asked more questions when Koso had brought Elizabeth to her house in the middle of that cold December night. She should have made him sit down, have a cup of tea, get him to calm down and tell her what was going on before she let him run off into the night leaving behind his ten year old daughter to never see him nor her brother again.

'I could have tried harder to stop him, to keep his family intact.' Greta told herself. 'Please forgive me Tera, I'm so sorry.'

As Greta thought of her beloved sister, the old woman could not stop the memory of seeing her younger sibling for the last time from bubbling inside her head. Greta recalled how her sister had looked on the day she died. Her eyes had dark circles under them and her short brown hair had been quite unkempt. Her deep blue eyes reflected exhaustion despite her never getting to leave her bed. What Greta remembered most though was the bouncing happy baby boy she had pressed against her small chest. That infant was so small and fragile looking it was hard to believe he had any dragon or oni DNA in him at all. Greta recalled fondly the adoring look in her sister eyes as she held him so very tightly in her thin arms, almost as if Tera believed if she could only hold him close enough then she wouldn't leave him when she passed away that dreadful night.

_**ForgottenFamily** _

"Alright." Koso announced as he casually barged into Lloyd and Morro's room. The conversation the two were having died upon their lips immediately as he entered.

The teal eyed man paid it no mind though as he gracefully lifted a small vial that held a bright glowing red liquid, up into the air for both teenagers to see.

"I have completed the antidote." Koso explained as he edged closer to the bed bound Morro. "Now if you would kindly open up.." The teal eyed man said in mocking politeness whilst he carefully maneuvered his body to sit on the edge of the bed as far away from Jasper as he could get.

Uncapping the small vial Koso's eyes momentarily darted towards Jasper, who was beginning to softly growl as he snuggled his head closer to Morro's in a protective gesture. When the wolf's fur coat came into contact with Morro's face no matter how hard he tried the wind master was unable to halt the oncoming sneeze that erupted into the air for all of the room's occupants to hear and just like last time, the sneeze was quiet and resembled that of a small feline.

Koso's usually narrow eyes widened at the sound as he displayed a rare show of surprise upon his angular features.

The whole room went silent for a moment or too, before Lloyd's soft chuckle rang out and Koso shook himself out of his slightly stunned state. When the straw hat wearing man looked back to Morro he saw the teenager's face take on the shade of a fresh tomato as he angirly turned his head to the side in a vain attempt to avoid Jasper's thick fur.

"Ahem well I uh,...where were we?" Koso asked hesitantly, before righting himself back into his usual irritable aura.

"Right, c'mon now you, primitive beast, move aside." Koso chided to Jasper who kept his large muzzle firmly planted on top of Morro's thin neck as his low growl steadily grew in volume, the closer Koso's hand levitated towards him and the wind master.

The teal eyed man sighed heavily. "For the departed realm's sake, there's nothing to get your tail in a twist about here, I'm not going to hurt him."

(once again art was not done by me ,but rather etchy-a-sketchy on tumblr

Jasper seemed unconvinced though and stubbornly remained in the same position. That was, until Morro grew agitated enough that he couldn't take it anymore and decided to exert a great amount of effort to raise his right arm and give the wolf a light slap on the nose.

After letting out a small whine, Jasper turned his giant head to face Morro. The former ghost's grey green orbs would have obliterated the animal into dust if looks could kill.

"Get. Off."

After flashing Morro a slightly betrayed look, Jasper turned his bright blue pupils back to Koso then let out one last warning growl before he begrudgingly backed down and off Morro's body.

Arching a long thin eye brow, Koso scoffed as he held the antidote up to Morro's mouth whilst using his left hand to prop the wind master's head up slightly much to the former ghost's clear annoyance.

"Of course he listens to you, takes a wild beast to peak sense into another I suppose." The teal eyed man commented as he titled the vial and watched as the blue liquid trailed downward into the grouchy teenager's parted lips.

As soon as the antidote made its way into his mouth, Morro couldn't stop from gagging a little. The antidote tasted as bad as it did last time. After the medicine was completely drained from the vial and into Morro's mouth, the effects took place. Almost immediately Morro could once more move his limbs without difficulty and his body was no longer consumed in agonizing pain.

Fifteen minutes later after the wind master had jumped up from the beds and immediately began to stretch his aching muscles that had been constricted from the strain of lying still for hours on end, Koso cleared his throat and said

"Well now that has been taken care of, seeing at is only midday I believe now would be a good time to start on your training."

Both the teenagers' eyes widened simultaneously. Lloyd was the first to splutter out a response.

"W-wait are you serious?"

"You mean actual training?" Morro asked quickly following Lloyd's question. "not just more f**king friendship exercises?"

Lloyd's eyes widened as he realized that Morro had cursed and braced his ears for they would no doubt be met with the piercing sound of a sharp hit of hand against face. Catching a peak at the wind master he knew Morro had realized his error as well and was already reading himself for the attack.

However what happened next did not meet their expectations at all for Koso simply narrowed his teal eyes as his mouth formed narrow straight line and responded with, "You know, it might benefit not you well to not use such vulgar language in the future, who knows you might be able to expand that limited vocabulary of yours. "

Feeling both kind of relieved and more than a little confused Lloyd let out a small breath he had not realized he had been holding in.

Morro was in a similar state of incertitude, but immediately tried to mask it with his usual appearance of apathetic complacency.

Koso then cast the dark haired boy a look that told both teenagers he would have happily smacked Morro upside the head if some unforeseen reason was not holding him back. "Now as you so eloquently put it those 'friendship exercises' wouldn't have been necessary if you two hadn't acted like spoiled brats and agreed to get along sooner. To answer your question though, yes Morro, I do mean real training. Hopefully you two morons have the capability to complete it so that I will not have dragged myself out of my 50ft grave for nothing."

Before either teen could think too hard on the cause for Koso's merciful leniency the straw hat wearing man raised up his right hand and snapped his fingers. Before either teenager could process what was happening they suddenly found themselves standing in a dark, damp cave all traces of the sunny bedroom they were standing in just moments prior erased from existence. Seeing that a familiar waterfall with crystal blue water rushing from it into the shallow pool below it, occupied the far side of the cavern Morro and Lloyd were quickly able to deduce that this was the same cave Koso had dragged them to on their first day of captivity.

Feeling the chill of panic run down his spine Lloyd immediately looked down at his clothes, before letting out a breath of relief when he saw that the boring grey clothes Koso befitted him with on his first day as his captive, were still left on his person untouched. His momentary relaxation was short lived however when Koso suddenly walked in front of the two teenagers and began walking along the ledge of the pool's wall.

"Follow me." Koso called out tersely without looking back at either of them. Briefly sneaking a glance at Morro, Lloyd saw the former ghost's eye brows were arched in thoughtfulness as his arms were crossed over his chest so tight the green ninja wondered how the wind master had not accidentally ripped them apart by now. Then the former ghost apparently decided that it was good idea to follow Koso's order (probably due to the fact he had just moments ago still been suffering from the effects of the teal eyed man's past attack) and he began to walk in the direction Koso was heading.

Coming to the conclusion that he should go along with them because what else did he have to do, Lloyd quickly followed behind. The three of them walked on in heavy silence, with each step Lloyd could feel his heart beat pound faster and faster. The green ninja couldn't help himself ,but begin to think of the very real possibility that he could actually inherit a new element, that would allow him to travel realms. The mere thought that all of this, impossible sh** was actually happening made Lloyd feel nearly light headed with the disbelief that filled his mind.

Morro stared dead eyed at Koso's back as he tried desperately to keep up his charade of apathy. 'Whatever, this is,...this is just - It's not like it matters anyway.' The wind master told himself. Who cares what Lloyd thought, the f**ker was probabl-definitely just crazy or some sh**.

Suddenly Koso stopped, and when the two teenagers looked up they saw that they had reached the other side of the small cave and had run into a wall. Looking over his shoulder Koso said briefly, "What you are about to see,..it is...just...try not to act like rambunctious apes. This place holds more value than any artifact in an monastery or museum in all of Ninjago."

Before either teen could question what the teal eyed man meant by 'this place'. Koso without warning, placed his right hand upon the wall, then out of nowhere, the part of the cave wall he was touching was revealed to be a large stone door that Koso was able to push open with ease. Dust fluttered about the air and Morro had to cover his mouth ad nose in order to avoid another adorable sneezing fit. Once the door was completely wide open Lloyd stole a glimpse inside as he ran to stand beside Koso and saw that below them stood a long winding stair case.

Then before Lloyd could have time to feel nervous about descending them in complete darkness he felt Koso push a long boney hand against his left shoulder as he passed his nephew and that startled the green ninja into movement. Behind him he heard Morro following along as Koso led the two down the steps. After they had walked some distance from the entrance, darkness began encroaching on the trio and it became harder and harder for Lloyd and Morro to navigate where to step. For some reason Koso seemed to have no trouble traversing down the stairs, and when Lloyd accidentally bump his hand against the straw hat wearing man causing him to look over his broad shoulder, the green ninja saw that Koso's bright teal eyes were glowing in the dark like a neon glowstick.

A little caught off guard by the surprising reveal the green ninja stopped completely, causing Morro to run into him. The former ghost let out a soft curse that only Lloyd who was the closest in ear shot could hear. At first all the two received from Koso was a puzzled look ,but then realization seemed to don on the man and had Lloyd been able to see more than just Koso's eyes, he was sure he would see a look of slight embarrassment graze the black haired male's face at his folly.

"Urghmmm" Koso cleared his throat. "Alright, my...apologies I forgot that you two are only about a quarter dragon, just..." The glowing eyed man trailed off as he reached for Lloyd's arm and before the energy wielder could shrink back, the straw hat wearing man awkwardly gripped the fabric of the blonde's grey sleeve. The green ninja was glad the darkness around him shrouded his embarrassed expression.

Koso looked back at Morro and said, "It would be wise of you to grab onto Lloyd so you don't end up falling and having to be bed bound again."

Morro scoffed in response. "I am not doing that."

Lloyd couldn't believe that had this situation taken place just two weeks ago, he would have come close to a heart attack, but now after spending so much time being in such close vicinity of the former ghost 24/7 the most effort summon was a small look of annoyance.

"Oh sorry? Did you believe that to be a suggestion." Koso shot back.

"Can't you just use your magic to make a light appear or something?" Morro asked earnestly, with a hint of desperation present in his voice that Lloyd was not aware the wind master could summon.

"Unfortunately, no" Koso responded. "Starting from that entrance we just came through years ago the walls were laced with an anti magic agent."

'What?!' Lloyd thought to himself. 'Maybe this means we can-'

"I feel I must warn the two of you foolish teenagers. No matter what your miniature denial infused brains may tell you, I am the brother of the first spinjitzu master and if you decide to seize this as a chance to attack me whatever consequences arise from that idiotic action will be entirely of your own volition, understand?" Despite hearing nor seeing any confirmation from either teen that they did in fact 'understand' Koso continued regardless. "Now, Morro please do me this small favor and quit acting like an overgrown child and grab onto your relative's arm, so that I don not have to worry about you injuring yourself, again."

A part of Lloyd believed that Morro would immediately try to attack Koso right there and then, however he was slightly surprised when he felt Morro scruffy hand grip the back of his grey shirt. He was even more surprised when he heard the former ghost softly say.

"I...don't freak out okay,...its just cuz I don't want to have to deal with that f**ker right now. I can't even see him clearly."

Lloyd felt confusion flood his mind. Was Morro trying to comfort him? Did he think Lloyd was getting scared. Had the sincerity in Morro's voice not caught the blonde completely off guard he might have felt insulted that the former ghost apparently thought he was trembling in terror. Before the green ninja could think too hard about it though, Koso tugged on the blonde's sleeve and suddenly the teenagers were pulled along into movement down the stairs.

For a while the trio simply walked on in tense silence. Morro and Lloyd both tried to awkwardly pretend they were not currently in the situation they were in now was non existent. After what seemed like hours their journey down the stairs came to an end when they finally reached the bottom.

What lay beyond the steps was shrouded in absolute blackness, Lloyd and Morro both couldn't help ,but stumble when Koso quickly led them off the last step into the rocky and uneven ground before he walked them up to what was probably a cave wall ,but it was so dark neither teenager could tell for sure. Then the straw hat wearing man suddenly pulled his long almost serpent like arm back and within the blink of an eye he shot his clenched fist into the darkness and a loud slamming noise rang out about the pitch black cavern.

Then out of nowhere light coming from first spinjitzu master knows where poured into the room almost blinding both teenagers. When they eventually recovered their sight Lloyd and Morro looked around and what they saw both shocked and excited them at the same time.

The room they were standing in was much larger than the darkness had led them to believe, not only that ,but the room was filled wall to wall with weapons and training equipment the likes of which they had only ever caught glimpses of in paintings that were featured in museums and monasteries. On the cave walls there also existed numerous paintings that were so old they had a lot of peeled off paint no doubt over years of neglect and it was hard to tell what exactly the art had been trying to depict in the first place.

"Alright" Koso said aloud breaking both teenagers from their shocked state. The teal eyed man turned around and took his straw hat off and tossed it a few feet away. Then the he did something that slightly surprised both teenagers, Koso took off his large white cloak and revealed his clothes underneath to be what Lloyd and Morro could only assume to be some kind of old battle armor. As the two teenagers stared at Koso the teal eyed man took out a length of rope and proceeded to tie his long hair into a tight pony tail clearing up his field of vision completely.

"You two wished for real training, well get ready."  
!


	20. Chapter 19

"You two wished for real training well get ready."

Being a ninja, Lloyd could safely say he had quite a bit of stamina. From his earliest days as Ninjago's savior in training the blonde was even then being woken up at dawn and being lovingly forced by his brothers to work out for at hours on end. However that being said, Lloyd still did not feel very prepared for the events that would soon follow the teal eyed man's sentence

Koso's version of training had turned out to be pretty simple. A sparring match that would be two on one. When he had informed Morro and Lloyd this the teenagers, though slightly hesitant at first, had realized that this might actually be an opportunity to maybe just maybe to defeat the crazy man. Not only did Koso not have his magic on hand, his sword had been tossed to the side when he removed his white robe.

However there arose two very problematic issues with their shared theory, very soon. The first became visible to them when before the sparring match could begin, Lloyd had tried flexing his powers only to find that no matter how hard he concentrated he couldn't even summon a spark and Koso observing the blonde's struggle casually told him that he forgot to mention earlier that the walls of this part of the cave were made out of thousand year old Vengestone. The small smirk present on Koso's face as he said this did not go unnoticed by either teenager.

After a beat of silence Koso had decided to announce to his captives that they were welcome to make the first move. Lloyd had immediately begun to work out a good strategy in his head, of course not without looking at Morro to see if the wind master was going to try anything impulsive. To his surprise though the former ghost had remained perfectly still, without so much as raising his head from its slumped over position.

'Looks like the doesn't give a sh** Morro is back.' Lloyd thought, momentarily forgetting his original objective and taking a minute to ponder the reason behind the former ghost's constant inconsistency.

The energy master really believed he had had the wind master pinned down, but the longer he was around the former the ghost the more he became less sure of that supposed fact. At first the blonde had expected that indifference melded with bits of past rage to be all there was left of the once proud boy with a green stripe in his hair, who wholeheartedly swore to prove himself to his sensei no matter the cost.

However that theory of his might as well have been thrown out the metaphorical window at that point. Those past two weeks hadn't given Lloyd much of a better understanding of Morro's true character, but they had still shown some (though rather small) evidence that there was more to the wind master than just apathy and bitterness.

"Ahem, not to be a bother ,but if one of you could make a move before you're older than me." Koso had spoken out, interrupting Lloyd from his thoughts.

Turning his attention back to the current matter, Lloyd quickly thought fast and had come up with the best battle strategy his startled mind could think of at that moment.

'Just run at him and try to land a really awesome punch.'

Though Lloyd had known this course of action was not thought through well and there was a pretty significant chance his small frame would not provide the power his hit needed in order to take Koso completely out of commission he theorized that if he could act quick enough and landed his strikes in rapid succession he would be able to gain enough momentum to push the fight in his favor.

'Just think Lloyd!' The green ninja had told himself as he suddenly broke into a sprint towards Koso. 'if you can catch him off guard and defeat him, you might be able to escape! Than you can go home!'

As the blonde ran at the man, he took notice that true to his word Koso remained perfectly still, clearly intent on letting Lloyd have this first hit. The green ninja had an after thought that maybe once he had taken the thirty something year old man down, he might still ask the teal eyed man about the departed realm just to be make absolutely sure Koso was just some crazy, amazingly powerful sorcerer. After all he said he was dead for sixty years, even if he was telling the truth about being related to the first spinjitzu master, how good could his combat skills be now?

It was around this time though, the aforementioned second issue had revealed itself.

After what felt like forever ,but was in reality only a few milliseconds Lloyd finally reached Koso and with as much strength as he could summon sent his fist crashing against Koso's shoulder in one hell of a right hook. As soon as it landed, Lloyd prepared to strike again with his left arm. Only, there was one small problem with that planned action, Koso was no longer in his field of vision.

Feeling a wave of shock wash over him as he stumbled shakily trying to regain his lost balance, Lloyd quickly turned back around to see Koso standing on the other side of the sparring arena. The teal eyed man let out a small sigh as he raised his left hand to rub his impacted shoulder.

"Fine I'll admit, you can throw a decent punch, at least when your opponent is standing perfectly still ,but now I think I'd like to see how well you can fight when the circumstances are a tad bit more realistic." Koso stated simply before darting towards Lloyd at lightening speed (the likes of which Lloyd had not realized until now, were the teal eyed man's actual natural ability and not the effect of some spell he cast upon his body). The green ninja's mind scrambled for a good second before his survival instincts suddenly kicked in and he quickly ducked out of the way, just in time to avoid the kick Koso had sent his way.

Lloyd barely had time to catch his breath though when the teal eyed man came at him once more and the two broke into close hand to hand combat for a while until Koso attempted to sweep the green ninja's legs out from under him, the blonde saw it coming though and broke into a jump roll effectively putting distance between the two of them.

Using this narrow opportunity, Lloyd tried desperately tried to get his frazzled mind back on track and come up with a new strategy. Unfortunately his time to think of an effective plan came to end almost instantly, when Koso used his inhuman speed to charge at him once more.

This time, the teal eyed man had apparently decided to change tactics for instead of trying to strike Lloyd down again once he reached him, Koso opted to alternatively just grab the blonde by his grey shirt and fling the boy all the way across the sparring arena.

Whether what happened next was Koso's intended purpose or not Lloyd could not decide, all he knew was that before he could properly register what was happening he was crashing straight into Morro, knocking them both onto the cold stone ground.

After a drawn out of moment of the two just lying on the cave floor awkwardly, the energy master eventually managed to pull himself up into a standing position. Morro, however remained sitting on the floor appearing to all the world like a lifeless rag doll.

Lloyd could not remember the reason why this had suddenly made him glower with anger or why he had done what he did next ,but what he could remember was a singular voice echoing inside his head repeatedly saying, 'Get the f**k up!'.

Then without giving his actions any forethought the green ninja proceeded to grab Morro by his shoulder length hair in a tightly clenched fist and harshly yanked the wind master to his feet.

Momentarily caught off guard it took the former ghost stumbled a little as he shakily tried to gain balance. Once the wind master had accomplished that goal, Lloyd gracefully released the wind master's captive hair and Koso had to privately admit to himself, that it looked quite comical considering Morro was slightly taller than the green ninja.

After a beat of silence Lloyd turned to see how the former ghost reacted to his rather rude awakening.

When the energy wielder's bright emerald eyes met the wind master's grey green orbs, Lloyd felt a chilled shudder make its way up and down his spine as he realized he had only seen the current look present on Morro's face a few times before, namely whenever the former ghost was really really f**king pissed.

Without any preamble Morro's hand shot out like an arrow and grabbed onto Lloyd's shirt collar.

"What. was. that. for?" The wind master spat as he stared intensely at the blonde.

Two weeks ago, Lloyd would have been both furious and frightened if he found himself in this exact situation. Now however, though he couldn't pin point the exact reason the green ninja felt no fear and no righteous anger flooding his system. Instead all the blonde felt was a slight twinge of annoyance that was overwhelmed by the strange sort of relief that washed over him like a tidal wave.

Clearing his throat Lloyd replied. "So, are you done moping around like a toddler."

The green ninja could hear Morro's teeth grind in agitation.

"What. did. you just fuc- say?"

"I think you heard me." Lloyd commented as he heard Morro's angered breathing beginning to rise in both volume and pace. " Now I'll ask again are you done acting like you're still dead?"

"What are you on?" The wind master asked sarcastically though there was still a hint of honest confusion present in his voice.

"I'm just tired of these constant mood swings of yours." Lloyd answered softly so tha Koso would hopefully not hear him. "This is a big chance to give our captor pay back for what he's put us through so far and yet you just want to stand around like some coward."

"..."

"What are you just afraid of fighting someone when you don't have your powers, if so that's really pathetic you kno-"

Morro's eyes narrowed into thin slits as he brought Lloyd in closer. " I. am. not. pathetic, and you better get through your f**king brain, idiot."

The green ninja returned the wind master's intense glare as he replied.

"Then prove it."

When those words left the blonde's lips Morro slowly let go of Lloyd's collar before turning to face Koso who stood boredly staring at the pair.

Seeing the wind master face him, Koso called out. " Oh pardon me, are you two done chit chatting like a bunch of school girls?"

Lloyd's eyes darted to Morro's clenched fists as he witnessed them tightened further into themselves. Then in the blink of an eye the wind master was sprinting into movement.

At first the blonde believed the former ghost was blindly charging at Koso like, he himself had done not just a few moments prior. Yet Lloyd was once again surprised by Morro, when suddenly the wind master turned sharply so that his direction was changed from Koso to the cave wall that stood behind the long dark haired man

Raising one of his eyebrows the teal eyed man found himself too invested in seeing what exactly the green striped haired brat was planning to move out of the way.

With two pairs of eyes intently focused on him, Morro felt his heart rate speed up as he came closer and closer to the rocky wall.

With an honest excitement coursing through him, that he truly believed was lost to him forever, the wind master let his experienced body take the reigns as he reached his destination. Then in an amazing display of agility, Morro ran up the vengestone wall before doing an impressive back flip off of it. Spiraling through the air like a circus performer the wind master positioned himself so that wherever he landed he would land on his feet and as the other two occupants of the cave room would soon realize that place turned out to be Koso, or more specifically just below the teal eyed man's broad shoulders.

At that moment everything seemed to happen in slow motion as both teenagers waited to see what would happen next. It was Morro's hope that he would be able to knock Koso to the ground and gain the upper hand.

However that hope was quickly dashed, when the teal eyed man remained standing, all bite bent backwards just a little in order to support Morro's weight without letting the teenager fall victim to gravity and come pathetically crashing to the ground.

Looking up casually, as if he wasn't balancing a teenager on top of him, Koso spoke.

"Well that was very good. A little showy, but still impressive if I didn't have such a strong constitution you might have taken me down."

Then the long dark haired man moved a little, clearing warning Morro he needed to get off so he wouldn't soon be kissing the cave floor. Taking the hint the wind master gracefully flipped off of the teal eyed man and landed on his feet.

Turning around to face Morro directly Koso said, "I have to admit that was some show you just put on, it was very entertaini-"

The teal eyed man paused to push some of his long hair away from his fac-wait hadn't he tied his hair up earlier. Koso quickly ran a hand through his long hair, when suddenly out of the corner of his teal eyes he saw Morro holding up his missing hair tying rope in the palm of his skinny hand.

Smirking as he watched Koso's teal eyes widen before narrowing once more, Morro pulled the his short hair back into a very small pony tail.

"I almost missed the landing when my hair got in my face, figured you wouldn't mind me borrowing this."

Scoffing in return, Koso quickly fished another rope from his pocket before once again tying his hair back. Straightening up the teal eyed man spoke.

"Very well, shall we continue?"

From there the sparring match went on for quite a while. The trio fought so long they completely forgot the concept of time, and put all their energy and focus into their next move. It went on like this for what was most likely hours upon hours before finally Koso saw that both teenagers were so exhausted they could hardly stand.

Seeing this as the moment to stop, the teal eyed man raised his hand and announced,

"Alright, alright you two have clearly had enough, I believe it's time we end this portion of training."

Before Lloyd or Morro might even consider protesting, they caught on very quickly to the wording Koso used, and were quick to make their confusion known.

"Wait,-"

"What do you mean this portion of training, there's f**king more?!" Morro's mind was so frazzled from his exertion he hadn't even bothered to try to and stop from cursing.

Koso eyed the green striped haired teenager for a moment, before replying. "Yes there's more, though don't fret this part is far less, draining. Also boy, it would truly do you well to curve that bad habit of yours, I am really trying to be kind."

Feeling reminded of Koso's brazened hand against his skin and short patience, Morro decided to obey and keep his mouth shut for now.

After seeing the two teenagers pant for air pathetically as flowed off them like rivers, Koso logically concluded they would not have a swell time trying to climb back up the stairs.

Koso sighed as he realized what he would have to do next, quickly running to each teenager, Koso grabbed them both before hurriedly making his way back up the stairs. Despite their tiredness Morro and Lloyd could not help ,but at least try to protest for sake of their pride.

"Hey c'mon we can walk."

"Yeah old man, what blondie said let us down."

Their remarks fell on deaf ears though for Koso simply ignored them both. Thankfully though, the teal eyed man did not take long to get them up the stairs and back into the water fall room.

Setting the two teenagers down, Koso suddenly realized he left his hat and cloak down stairs, letting out a quick sigh, the teal eyed man darted back down stairs to retrieve his items.

As he left, Lloyd and Morro laid eyes on the pure blue water gushing before them, then without any preamble trampled over each other in order to reach it.

Stumbling towards the edge of the cave pool's bank the wind and energy master both practically dunked their heads into the water, reveling in the cold refreshing taste of having it glide down their throats as they each took giant gulps. The two teenagers were so engrossed with getting hydrated they almost didn't notice Koso had returned and was speaking to them.

"Oh, perhaps I should have packed a couple of water skins before we left, my mistake, anyway once you two have had your fill I need you to complete the next part of today's training."

Offering no more than a shrug in reply both teenagers slurped up as much beautiful, magnificent water as their bellies could take, before standing up and turning around to face the teal eyed man.

Making sure he had each child's attention, Koso began to explain.

"Alright for the next part of your training we're all going to,..." For a reason neither teen could identify the straw hat wearing man seemed kind of hesitant to finish his sentence. "meditate."


	21. Chapter 20

Koso could not, nor would he ever shy from admitting the fact that he had an excellent memory. The man's mind was like that of a filing cabinet that had just about every minuet experience he had ever lived through safely tucked away until it was useful for him to recall it.

However that being said, Koso would try to refrain from confessing the fact that there did exist one memory that remained an absolute blur to him. That memory was the first time he managed to summon a mere glimmer of his elemental power.

It had all happened so fast Koso could only recall a few minor details. Two of which were that he had been physically exhausted and his mind had been in a state of strangely numb bliss. He remembered being able to think of nothing else ,but the sensations of his body laying perfectly still against the thick winding grass beneath him.

Then in a flash a colorful swirling vortex was slammed into existence like that of a sword suddenly slicing through the skin of a person's throat.

To this day, Koso was still uncertain what had been the exact cause that allowed him to call upon his elemental power that fateful day ,but he was convinced that it had to have been something to do with his mental state.

The reason for the sage green eyed man's hasty conclusion was the simple fact that every time he had had to summon his powers since then, he had to focus his mental capacities into not thinking about anything at all, not something as complex as the creation of all sixteen realms nor something as pointless as the way his rice hat sometimes felt itchy against his scalp. Of course this was easier said than done, even for someone half dragon.

The act of calling upon his powers was usually so difficult he often needed to set aside time to meditate in order to clear his mind and this was never a pleasant experience for the dark haired man to go through, because to Koso's mild embarrassment he couldn't stand meditating!

Of course, he didn't want to, nor meant to feel this way about the simple activity ,but Koso simply couldn't help it. As both a sorcerer who had to be quick witted in order to remember an excess amount of spell symbols, and a warrior most skilled in fast attacks, Koso found it very hard to sit perfectly still and not think of nor do anything at all for an extended period of time.

That was the reason he really dreaded having to do the act of snapping his fingers and transporting him and his bratty relatives out of the cave and into the expanse of meadow that surrounded his humble cottage home.

As soon as that was done, Lloyd and Morro both unsurprisingly immediately began to ask stupid questions.

"Wait what?!"

"Old man, why are we-"

"Shhhh!" Koso hushed, cutting them off as he held an elongated finger to his lips.

"I believe I already informed you both what we are going to do now." The sedge hat wearing man stated in a hoarse whisper. "We. Are going to meditate, for half an hour." Koso explained as he dug a hand into the pocket of his white cloak and produced a small pocket watch.

Lifting it up for the two teenagers to see, Koso announced. "When the time reads 4:30, we shall have completed today's training understood?"

"Wait!" Lloyd spoke up. "Are you really telling us that's it, we just fought for hours and now we're just gonna sit arou-"

"Great nephew." The sedge hat wearing man interrupted. "If I wanted your opinion on my methods I would have asked for it."

"Yeah bu-"

"Ah ah ah ah, enough talking all you're doing is wasting time now, it's when the time reads 4:32, we'll have completed today's training."

"Bu-"

"Ah ah."

"Wai-"

"4:34."

"I jus-"

"Stop. Speaking." Koso made a gesture with his left hand that was clearly trying resemble that of a mouth being closed. "We're all going to find a spot to sit at then we will begin our meditating got it?"

"Well I-"

"4:35."

Forgottenfamily

After what seemed like forever the trio had finally managed to get into the proper positions required for meditating.

Lloyd had decided to sit up against a near by tree while Morro had taken a spot on a random rock that stood outcropping from the meadow like a site thumb. Koso had simply sat upon the tall grass, his form may have been hidden by the vegetation surrounding him were it not for his oversized rice hat.

'This is stupid.' Lloyd couldn't help ,but think. 'How will we even know if it'sis working or not?'

Perhaps there would simply be an obvious sign like his or Morro's eyes would start glowing or something like that.

The green ninja let out a soft sigh as he at least tried to obey Koso's orders and 'clear his mind'. While Lloyd had never been very fond of meditating he could at least admit it was a useful tool that could very helpful to aid one in centering themselves.

Sometimes even, the blonde found himself enjoying the feeling of soothing nothingness that came to him whenever he was finally able to actually let go and relax. Truth be told though this was usually only accomplished when one of his siblings were accompying him. Lloyd couldn't pin point the exact reason why, but something about having someone whom he trusted and cared about sitting next to him, put him at ease and he could never truly achieve this effect on his own.

Man, what he wouldn't give to have just one of his beloved family members sitting here with him. Lloyd was really starting to miss them and he knew they were probably worried sick about him.

'Don't worry guys I'll figure a way out of here soon.' Lloyd mentally promised.

Forgottenfamily

Despite what either Koso or Lloyd may have presumed Morro was actually quite knowledgeable in the art of meditation.

Now that was mainly to do with the fact his sen- Wu always made him to do it whenever his temper got out of control which was admittedly quite frequent.

Even during his time in the cursed realm, Morro found it helpful, if for nothing else than to get away from the pressure being bestowed upon him by his ghostly subordinates who were all just waiting for him to slip up so they could get their chance at being the preeminent's champion.

'Jokes on me I guess ' Morro couldn't help ,but think as his mind wandered into less than pleasant memories. ' I was her greatest fighter and she still dragged me down with the rest of them.'

The former quickly shook his head after the thought entered his mind.  
Repeatedly telling himself, 'None of that sh** matters, nothing matters what's the point in think of anything when nothing matters. It's just like old times, relax and don't let anything bother you.'

Morro sucked in a breath as he slowly closed his eyes. 'just f**king relax.'

Forgottenfamily

Once that awful half hour had passed and Koso had announced it to his two charges he quickly lead them back inside the cottage where Jasper sat waiting for them on the living room couch that was surprisingly still intact.

Upon seeing Koso walk through the dismantled door, Jasper let out a an angry growl ,but his attack stance was quickly forgotten when his glowing blue eyes witnessed Lloyd and Morro quickly follow behind.

Leaping directly into their path, Jasper was quick to jump up on his hind legs and lay his front paws upon Morro's shoulders. Due to the black haired teenager's short height, it was easy for the Nira wolf to begin licking his face joyfully.

Very surprised and even more disgusted with the display of affection Morro quickly pushed the wolf down hard enough he had to fell off of him ,but not too rough to the point the canine might have been injured upon his landing.

The Nira wolf though clearly a little offended by the rejection, quickly shook off and began walk along side the former ghost while nuzzling his large head against Morro's thigh much to the wind master's obvious chagrin.

Lloyd while failing to contain his laughter at the amusing display on the outside, inside he felt just little bit well, jealous that Morro seemed to be the affectionate wolf's new favorite person.

' It's like he thinks Morro knows him or something.' Lloyd thought confusedly. ' weird.'

Before the blond had too long to think on the strange phenomena , Koso suddenly spoke up, his firm refrain echoing just slightly against the cottage's walls.

"Alright, while I am aware it was just your first day, I have to say I am still disappointed that niether of you were able to summon so much as a spark of my original elemental power."

While Koso's bluntness did make a part of Lloyd did feel a little inadequate, he still couldn't stop a defensive remark from slipping out of his lips.

"Well maybe we would have done better if you just-"

"Ah ah," Koso held up a boney hand as he effectively silenced the blond teenager. "I don't want to hear your excuses, I just expect better tomorrow."

"Tomorrow! You mean we're going to repeat this?!" Morro suddenly shouted, momentarily turning his attention away from Jasper who was still running against him like the oversized puppy dog it was.

Koso narrowed his sage green eyes whilst replying to the black haired teenager.

"Yes we are, until you both can consistently summon my old elemental power."

"But, that could take forever!" Lloyd cut back in throwing his arms down like that of a child on the verge of a temper tantrum.

"Well than you two better get your act together." Koso sarcastically remarked before turning away from them, most likely so he could head out the broken front door and grab a chicken to prepare dinner with.

However before he was even a step outside he felt something tug on his cloak effectively stopping him in his tracks.

Looking over his shoulder Koso saw that it had been his bratty great nephew who had halted him.

After a beat of tense silence Lloyd looked up from his position a of staring at the floor, a look of determination present on his youthful features.

Seeing Koso's sharp eyes on him, Lloyd swallowed silently before saying.

"I-Look I want to get out of here as soon as possible, so I definitely will try my hardest to, summon that stupid element okay ,but...my family is definitely worried about me and they might even think I'm dead or being tortured or whatever so can,...can you just let me I don't know write to them, so I can tell them I'm okay?"

Koso cocked an eyebrow as he considered the blonde's request. He would no doubt need to use a teleportation spell to deliver the blonde's writing, no way in the departed realm was he going to waste time and energy running that long distance away from his home just to search for a specific air vessle.

To cast the spell though he would need to remember exactly what the ship looked liked, specifically inside so he didn't risk teleporting into the air by mistake and falling to his death. That was a problem because he could recall very little about what the bounty looked like from the inside. He had been so preoccupied with kidnapping his great nephew he had had little time to admire the ship's interior design.

Oh ,but wait, of course! He could simply teleport to Greta's destroyed shop! His excellent memory could recall enough detail about the neighborhood the destroyed shop had been built in that he could just finger snap his way there and then search for the bounty from that specific point.

Of course, the question remained of why he should do the little brat this giant favor.

Looking down at the blonde who despite his best efforts to hide his desperation, was still visible to Koso, the sedge hat wearing man sighed as he finally broke the tense silence by speaking.

"Alright, great nephew how about this, if you can manage to summon just a little bit of my old elemental power by the end of the week, I shall do you the favor of delivering you comforting letter to your dear family. Do we have a deal?" To emphasis his point Koso turned around, knocking Lloyd's grip on his cloak and held out his right hand for the green ninja to shake.

Despite this act seeming all to familiar to that of one of his many conniving former enemies, somewhere deep down Lloyd felt that Koso was being completely honest so with little reluctance the blonde quickly grasped Koso's outstretched hand and shook it quickly.

"Deal"

Forgottenfamily

After dinner which consisted of more chicken stew and Morro's continued attempts to get Jasper to leave him alone, Lloyd was quick to empty his plate by sneaking large bits and pieces under the table for Jasper to hungrily consume whenever Koso's head was turned.

Once he had tossed the plate in the sink and scrubbed it clean. The green ninja hastily dismissed himself and ran to his and Morro's room ,but not before grabbing the charcoal pencil and old parchment paper he had had Koso give him after they made their 'deal'.

Upon entering, Lloyd was reminded that the twin beds were still pushed against one another.

Due to the fact that they were no longer chained and he was not fond of the idea of willingly sleeping so close to his enemy (?), the green ninja quickly decided it was best to push each of beds away from one other until they were each occupying their own space against the opposite walls of the small bedroom.

Once that task was completed the blonde claimed the left side of the room as his own by resting upon his now separated bed.

Once he was seated, Lloyd immediately began to start writing his letter. The blonde soon became lost in his words, as he descriptively wrote down everything that had happened to him on piece after piece of paper. He even included some clues as to where his location was, though he was sure that would be ineffective, considering Koso would no doubt look over his writing to make sure nothing interesting was being revealed.

A part of Lloyd wanted to include telling his brothers and sisters about Morro ,but he decided against it. The point of this letter was to make sure they knew he was okay and they definitely wouldn't believe that if they knew Morro was with him.

After a while of scribbling down word after word, Lloyd suddenly realized that due to the quickly setting sun, it was soon going to become hard to see what he was writing. Getting up, the green ninja hastily ran out of the room to get some matches for his bedside candle.

Upon leaving the room, Lloyd saw that Morro had finally finished his dinner and was heading towards the bed room with Jasper hot his tail. Brushing past them Lloyd quickly found Koso still sitting at the kitchen table, this time with writing materials of his own. The sedge hat wearing man refused to acknowledge his existence and Lloyd was fairly certain that he didn't want him to.

So wasting no time, the green ninja walked over to one of the kitchen cabinets and grabbed the box of matches he knew were kept there.

With his prize in hand Lloyd sprinted back to his and Morro's room

As he entered the green ninja was slightly surprised to see Morro on his side of the room, looking over his multiple paged letter with a sort of thoughtful look on his face. Jasper sat curled up around the wind master's feet, looking very much like a hairy rug

Tilting his head in confusion, the blonde decided to make his presence known by clearing his throat. The wind master jumped as if he had been caught with his metaphorical hand in a non-existent cookie jar.

The black haired teenager looked back at Lloyd a slightly guilty expression present on his features as he cautiously stepped away from Lloyd's side of the room with Jasper following behind him.

Perplexed by the former ghost's odd behavior, Lloyd frowned as he made his way to his bed and sat down before getting to work on lighting his bedside candle.

Hearing Morro take his own seat on his side of the bedroom with Jasper following suit, the green ninja let out a small awckward breath he had not realized he had been holding in and once more let his mind be emmerced in the words he was writing to his brothers and sister.

After a few moments of silence. Lloyd was suddenly aware that Morro was speaking to him.

"So...what are you writing about?"

Lloyd frowned whilst looking up to see Morro staring at him awckwardly not paying any attention to the fact that Jasper's large head was resting in his lap.

"Didn't you see when you were looking at it earlier?"

Morro's eyes widened slightly as if he had just accidentally revealed something important. Letting out a clearly nervous chuckle whilst uncharacteristically reaching up a hand to frantically rub his thin neck, Morro replied with an unconvincing.  
"Oh, yeah I just, nevermind."

Lloyd probably should have just let it go, and he would have, honestly! However something inside him made him come to a very hasty conclusion, like a puzzle that somebody miraculously solved with the just the bare minimum of clues. Whether it was his tiredness or sheer stupidity that made Lloyd announce his discovery by asking one singularly idiot question he would never know.

All he knew was that before he could think about what he was saying Lloyd suddenly found himself uttering the words.

"Do you know how to read?"


	22. Chapter 21

"Do you know how to read?"

ForgottenFamily

"Yeah of course, I'm not an idiot" Morro replied staring Wu in the eye with as much as conviction that was possible for a fourteen year old whose face was stuffed to the brim with noodles . The boy's increase in training hours, had caused his appetite to increase greatly.  
"Oh? If it's alright may I ask how? I know it must have been difficult considering your previous circumstances. " The blond man asked, sparing a small glance back at the wind master, before turning his attention back to the stove where a rapidly heating up tea pot innocently sat.   
Swallowing his food down in one gulp, Morro bit his lip, whilst lowering his hands beneath the table so Wu wouldn't be able to see his tightly clenched fists.  
'D*mnit! Why does he always have to keep pushing!'  
Back when the blond man had first taken him in he wouldn't have dared questioning Morro on anything this personal ,but that was a while ago, before the wind master even knew he was destined to be the green ninja, savior of Ninjago.  
As a tense silence began to settle between the two like a blanket, Morro's mind began to frantically stitch together a lie that would get the blond man to back down. He couldn't let Wu know that he was illiterate, if he knew he would see him as just some stupid street rat who had no chance of being the green ninja!  
'C'mon think, think, think!' The wind master mentally told himself.  
When it appeared his sensei was about to spare Morro another over the shoulder glance, the boy panicked and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"My mom!"

The blond man startled before turning around completely so that he was staring wide eyed at his student.  
Steeling his nerves, Morro continued, hoping the trembling in his voice would be perceived as his emotions getting out of control and not fear of his lie not being believed.   
"She.....she taught me before,.....before.....she.....died." The wind master decided to fake a cough hoping it would make him sound more genuine. "She told me that...that was the only thing she had left to give." Morro finished, silently cursing himself for not being able to force tears out of his eyes. It would have been nice to be able to add that extra touch just to be make sure there was no way Wu couldn't believe his little fib.  
His sensei , as naively trusting as always returned the black haired boy's lie with a sympathetic expression before closing the gap between them and wrapping his arms around the teenager's shoulders in a tight hold.  
Startled at the contact, and the fact that it was Wu who was giving it to him (considering the blond man had usually refrained from this kind of thing unless Morro initiated it himself) the wind master could only stand there frozen for a few moments before suddenly his frantic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Wu's voice.  
"I'm,.....I'm so sorry Morro." If possible the blond man seemed to squeeze the wind master even tighter. "I know that must have been hard for you to reveal, but....I want you to know I appreciate how much trust you have placed in me. My mother was also taken from me at a young age and... I can't imagine how I would have survived without my brother and father."

Morro sucked in a breathe when his sensei paused briefly to card a hand through his thick raven locks.   
"I want you to know that, you don't have to worry about surviving this pain alone anymore, I'm here for you now and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

As these comforting words were uttered Morro's mind finally caught up with reality and he was able to tentatively return the blond man's embrace.   
The two stood like this in silence for a while until finally Wu decided to release the black haired boy when the familiar whistle of a burning teapot pierced the air. Without any preamble, his sensei quickly turned back around to attend his precious tea.  
As soon as Morro was relieved from the man's gaze, he couldn't help allowing a brief feeling of relief to wash over him.   
Still though, anxiety began to fill his mind as he thought up a thousand and one theoretical scenarios in which he wouldn't be able to hide his illiteracy from his 'caretaker', and as a result this once in a life time ticket to escaping his meaningless , poverty filled life would be snatched away with the wind never to return.   
After all how could Wu believe him to be the green ninja, savior of Ninjago if he knew how stupid Morro really was.  
'No.! The wind master mentally snapped at himself. 'I'm NOT stupid and no one can tell me otherwise.' He determinedly thought. 'All I need to do is show Sensei how much I want this, he won't be able to deny me once he sees. I just.....I know he won't. He'll see.' 

ForgottenFamily

"Uh hey everything okay?"  
Morro startled slightly as Lloyd's voice sliced through his memory like a katana. Raising his head up so that he could stare into the blonde's emerald green irises, the former ghost attempted to speak.   
" uh.....I.."  
The wind master paused lowering his head down to stare at his shaking hands as he struggled to come up with something to say. His mind felt like it had been caught up in perilous whirlwind.  
Then suddenly an idea appeared.  
'Just tell him the lie you told Wu all those years ago.'   
Yes, that was perfect, that would surely get the blonde off his back. Feeling Lloyd's eyes on him, Morro looked back up to face the green ninja. The lie was on the tip of his tongue all he had to do was utter it.  
" Well, I....you see......."  
'What are you doing!' The wind master mentally screamed at himself. 'Why are you hesitating just say it.'  
"I.......I....."  
Morro couldn't understand why it suddenly felt like his tongue had turned to lead. He had lied to his sensei, the only person who ever gave a sh*t about him with as much as ease as one might tie their shoe. Yet right here and now, lying about something as trivial as this just seemed too,...............meaningless.  
'It's because it is pointless' A voice whispered inside Morro's head. 'Can't you see how pathetic this all is, what's the point? To save what little pride you have left well what's the point of carrying any pride at all now, it's not like-'  
"Uh hey Morro c'mon can't you just......say something?"  
Morro ignored Lloyd's question because it was at this moment an epiphany came to the wind master and he could now see everything clearly.  
'Back then when I lied to Wu, I was going to be the green ninja. I was going to have a purpose!'  
This realization made Morro tremble as he began to fall deeper into this familiar mental rabbit hole. Everything he did, he did because he believed that he was going to be someone. Someone important, special. His suffering would have meant something. It wouldn't have just been meaningless because it would have served the purpose of making him stronger and tougher so that he would be all the more ready to take up the mantle of the green ninja.  
Even when he was sent to the cursed realm, even when the blonde brat had been given the gi instead of him, there was always that hope, that determination that fueled every fiber of his being. Now though.......now it was gone. There was nothing left. It's almost funny, Morro believes he actually felt less like a shell of a human being than he was nothing more than an angry vengeful spirit. At least then, he wasn't so......pathetic  
'Now look at me,' He thought bitterly. 'I'm nothing. What am I even doing here?  
As a mountain of emotions the wind master had tried so hard to suppress, suddenly came toppling down inside him, he wasn't sure what to do or say. He could vaguely hear Lloyd trying to talk to him again, but it sounded as nothing more than static to the former ghost. The world around of him seemed to fade away as a less than pleasant mantra began repeating itself over and over again inside his mind.  
'You're patheticpatheticpatheticpatheticpatheticpatheticPATHETICPATHETICPATHETIC!!!'  
Morro couldn't take it anymore. He had to get out there. Out of that room, out of that stupid cottage. He had to leave right now!  
Without warning, the former ghost mindlessly shoved Jasper off his lap and shot to his feet. Not even chancing a look at the shocked expression no doubt present on Lloyd's features, Morro wasted no time in breaking into sprint out the bedroom door. As he ran down the hallway, the wind master felt himself sink even further into his mind, so much so that he didn't even register the fact that Koso wasn't there to scold him or the sound of Lloyd footsteps as the blond hastily tried to follow him.   
Wanting to lose the green ninja, Morro mustered as much energy as his thin body could manage before he sprinted out the cottage's entrance. The thick grass of the meadow nor the darkness surrounding him could slow him down.  
He didn't care if Koso would soon be after him, he didn't care how stupid he must look running mindlessly into the pitch black night, all he cared about was getting as far as away from everyone and everything that he possibly could.  
Maybe,....maybe then he wouldn't feel so,...  
....PATHETIC.

ForgottenFamily

"What just happened?" Lloyd asked aloud as he stood frozen in the kitchen eyes stuck to the front door Morro had just run out of. The green ninja felt so stunned he briefly wondered if this was some weird dream he was having. Then again though, this whole scenario should be some wild fever dream in the first place ,but that was beside the point.   
Jasper seemed as equally confused ,but not for long because the suddenly his nose twitched and then without any preamble the Nira wolf took off out the front door into the night, most likely intent on catching up to the wind master.  
Before Lloyd could even think to stop the animal, he realized he hadn't heard a word from-  
'Koso?!'  
Lloyd turned around and scanned every inch of the small kitchen. Shockingly though he could find no trace of the sedge hat wearing man.   
Throwing a hand to his forehead, the green ninja let out a confused groan as he mentally questioned.  
'Where the hell is Koso!?'  
A beat of silence passed before out of nowhere, as if he had heard what Lloyd had been thinking, Koso's silhouette appeared in the front doorway as he entered the cottage.   
"Well that took longer than expected oh well at least now I can-" Koso paused his monologue, most likely so he could take in the strange sight before him.   
"Okay," Koso said with a less than subtle hint of exasperation. "I'll give you three seconds to explain to me why-"  
"Morro ran off!" Lloyd blurted out cutting the sedge hat wearing man off.   
Koso's eyes widened in alarm as he slowly allowed that statement to sink in.  
"What? What do you mean he ran off?"  
"I mean, he just took off. No warning, no.....anything!"  
Letting out a tired sigh Koso, pinched the bridge of his nose, whilst closing his eyes in an obvious display.   
"What did you do?"  
"Nothing! I was just talking to him and-"

"Okay, okay when did he take off?"

"Just now! Didn't you see? Where were you?!"

Koso's eyes shot open as the question left Lloyd's lips as a look of surprise graced his angular features.  
"That is none of your concern. All you need to be worried about is not planning any foolish escape attempts, while I go get that little ungrateful brat!" The teal eyed man explained as he began to turn around and head out the still broken front door.

"What?! Wai-"

Without so much as sparing the blonde an over the shoulder glance, Koso raised his right hand into the air, sufficiently silencing the green ninja.  
"As I said don't even think of running away, I don't have time to make another barrier ,but I think this should serve as enough of a nice incentive for you not try anything." With that Koso snapped his fingers and Lloyd's wrist were suddenly adorning a familiar pair of vengestone bracelets.   
"Hey!" Lloyd shouted in frustration as the harshly cold metal was already beginning to make his skin itch.  
Lowering his hand once more Koso replied with a shrug saying. " My apologies ,but I can't take any chances. Just know that if you try running off like Morro, you won't get far on foot and I'll catch up to you in no time and if that happens," Koso paused to give Lloyd a fierce stare that made the green ninja feel as if those sharp teal eyes were peering into his soul. "let's just say I might not be in a pleasant mood."  
With that Koso disappeared out the doorway into the cold black night.


	23. Chapter 22

'Foolish... idiot! Should have never listened to that senile old woman!' Koso berated himself as he darted into the dark night with only his glowing green eyes and the reflection of moonlight to light his way through the thick meadow grass.

  
'I hope you're happy Greta! I tried doing as you said, and look what happened! You show them even a modicum of leniency and they think they can do anything!' The teal eyed man mentally ranted as he continued to charge through the unlighted meadow.

A low whistle of wind began to pierce the air with every lightning fast step he took. Koso knew he had to be quick, there was no doubt an approaching storm, if the dark clouds beginning to swirl around the moon was any indication.  
Thankfully, Koso didn't exactly have to wonder which direction Morro went, because a certain furry pest was unintentionally acting as the perfect guide for him. With Jasper only a few meters ahead of him Koso was sure he could easily follow the stupid wolf, until it led him straight to his bratty relative. ( that is if, Morro was smart enough to see that a storm was coming and hadn't decided to fly through that mess yet and potentially get himself killed)

' and once I find the little idiot,....'  
Koso couldn't help ,but allow an enraged snarl to grace his angular features as he envisioned all the horribly cruel tortures he could subject Morro to for making him run out into the freezing cold night.

_**ForgottenFamily** _

'What am I doing here?! There's nothing left it's all just.......pointless'  
It was frankly a miracle that Morro had managed to run so fast, considering the meadow was becoming increasingly harder to navigate as he got farther and farther away from Koso's cottage. The darkness rapidly engulfed the teenager, till he was simply sprinting blindly through the pasture. His breath started to come out in quick pants and he could feel his shaky limbs begin to sweat. The breeze that blew through the valley caused a shiver to run down the boy's spine, but he could hardly give two sh*ts about it, all that mattered to the wind master was getting away. It didn't matter is he had no idea where he was going, he just needed to focus on using his spry legs to get him far away from that f**ing prison as possible.  
Despite the fact his head was a mess of repetitive mantras, Morro was still sane enough to see that if he kept just running straight ahead like this, he would most likely end up colliding with one of the many stone mountains that surrounded the valleys. Koso would find him and drag him back. He had to change directions fast.  
So withtin the blink of an eye, Morro made a harsh pivot to the right, and without even taking a moment to properly right his footing, the former ghost took off into the near by forestation.  
Even as his body entered the shelter of the woods, Morro could still felt the pressure of the howling winds swirling around him like a miniature cyclone. The harsh blades of air were so intense against him he swore they were going to suffocate him(the irony was not lost on him) meanwhile inside his mind, the harsh whispers of truth he desperately wanted to suppress steadily crescendoed until they ultimately blended together into an agonizing cacophony.  
'useless, unimportant, not good enough, stupid, idiot, just give up already! Giveup, giveup ,giveup GIVEUP GIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUP!'

  
"No.....Stop it!" Morro shouted as he vainly tried to block out the noise by jamming his calloused palms against his ears.  
.....but you can't block out what's inside your mind.....  
' NothingleftnothingleftnothingleftnopurposenopurposenopurposeNOPURPOSENOPURPOSENOPURPOSE-'

"SHUT UP!" 

Immediately Morro felt the presence of the howling winds disappear and leave nothing ,but pure, beautiful silence in their wake. After taking a moment to the wind master was soon able to open the eyes he hadn't realized he'd shut and what he saw almost shocked him.  
Almost all of the trees surrounding him were now lifeless stumps, without so much as a severed branch left behind to evidence their viscous beheading.

  
After taking a moment to just stare at the destruction his powers had wrought, Morro was about to keep running when suddenly he felt something wet hit his shoulder. Looking up the wind master saw multiple drops of water cascade from the atmosphere as a bolt of lightening lit up the sky like a firework.

  
As water poured onto the wind master's shivering form with seemingly no end Morro decided to seize this as an opportunity to distract himself from his own mind and look for shelter  
Surveying the area around him, the wind master was slightly surprised to see that at least one tree still remained in tact and for seemingly good reason, for it was a very large oak tree, with what appeared to be a very sturdy trunk that the first spinjitzu master himself would have a hard time taking down.  
Not even sparing a second thought, Morro mindlessly sprinted towards and once he was under the confines of its magnificently thick leaves and branches the wind master wasted no time at all to do the one thing he could think to do at the point.

  
He violently threw himself face first into the cold ground.  
Morro knew he must look pathetic ,but at that point and time he really couldn't bring himself to care. Nothing felt like mattered. His mind was in shambles, his only life goal was dead for a long time now and he can't believe it took this long to remember that fact completely. He had tried putting it off until now, in some vain hope of obtaining some modicum of peace (even then he still had his bouts of hopelessness overtake him) ,but now there was no more running away from it, no more hiding.  
As the former ghost, numbly pushed himself up for a brief moment so he could position himself sitting cross-legged with his back leaning against the tree trunk, his mind finally allowed itself to process his thoughts in a much more sane manner.  
'Is this is it?'

The wind master couldn't help ,but sigh as he mindlessly twirled one of his raven locks between his fingers.  
'Is this everything I worked for, DIED for, just to be brought back to life with no purpose,no home,no one besides an old man who sees me as nothing more than a disappointment, who doesn't even give so much as a sh*t about me?'

  
As the wind master's mind wandered to Wu, he couldn't help remember the last words he said to him when he was still alive.  
"I'm going to find that tomb and once I do you'll see you were wrong about me." Now that Morro said the words out loud with no one ,but the drizzling rain as an audience he realized how corny they actually sounded.  
'I wonder what you must have thought of them.....old man.' The wind master couldn't stop a small humorless grin from breaking out at the clever nickname. 'Maybe you were thinking I was just bluffing, that I would come back'  
Perhaps that was the reason, Wu never went out to look for him, maybe that was why he never got a funeral, or even so much as a f**king lantern on all the Days of Departed that had come to pass throughout the years.  
'Maybe Lloyd was right, maybe next year I might get someone to mourn me.' As that lone thought echoed inside the recesses of his mind, Morro found himself tensing. 'What am I saying? I don't......'

  
The former ghost shut his eyes as his fingers clenched even tighter around the lock of raven hair still in his grasp. 'I mean......what's the point of me even being here I don't......I don't have anything left to live fo-'  
Morro was torn from his thoughts when he heard footsteps rumble against the ground, looking up he was immediately met with the sight of Jasper charging right at him. Before he could think to try and dodge the annoying animal, the Nira wolf all too quickly collided with his thin frame and knocked him back even further against the tree trunk.  
Spluttering out loose wolf hair that managed to get lodge in his mouth, Morro was quick to throw the creature off of him, completely ignoring the sad whine that followed.

  
When the former ghost was about to berate the wolf for following him, a familiar voice made him freeze.  
"There you are."  
Head shooting up, Morro was almost blinded by the sight of glowing green eyes peering down at him with less than innocent intent occupying them.  
'F**k the old b***ard found me!'  
Ignoring the former ghost's shock Koso was quick to speak. "Alright, I'll deal with you later, right now we need to get back. I'm already drenched to the bone thanks to you."

  
Koso bent down slightly, most likely to haul Morro to his feet.  
"NO!" The wind master shouted instinctively jumping up so he could back away and put some distance between them.  
Koso frowned, as another lightening bolt struck and illuminated his angular face in the darkness.  
"Sorry did my ears deceive me it almost sounded like you foolishly said no?"  
The wind master rolled his grey-green eyes before responding with. " Yeah that's what I said a**hole!"  
As those words left his mouth, Morro might have regretted them if he had any f**ks left to give about his well being, because as soon as he finished speaking Koso's eyes narrowed and his stance took on a familiar threatening stance.  
"Alright, listen boy, I've tried being gentle, and kind ,but I've about reached my limit with you. I suggest you tread lightly."  
Head filled to the brim with adrenalin Morro immediately bit back with. "Well if I'm such a f**king burden. Why don't you just leave me out here so I can rot in peace, just like everyone else does?!"

  
In a rare display of confusion, Koso exasperatedly asked "What are you going on about?"

" I don't know if you're actually what you say you are or not and you know what I don't care! I never asked to be dragged out here in the first place!" The wind master panted slightly after he was done shouting. In the background he could hear Jasper emitting a scared whine as he sat frozen in place between the two men.

"Your point?" Koso asked appearing as nonchalantly as one could with rain pouring down upon them. "Perhaps you've forgotten this, but I didn't exactly ask the other one for his permission either." The perceptive sedge hat wearing man was quick to notice Morro wince as the blonde's name was brought up. "Let me put this in a way you can understand, you aren't getting a choice, I'm keeping you both here until you can summon my old elemental power. Once you can do that freedom is yours. Now if you wish to avoid an even worse punishme-"

"and what if I just tell you to go f**k yourself?" Morro asked without even a hint of humor present in his voice.  
Koso might have chuckled if he hadn't been so annoyed by the response. " Haven't we been over this. You know I'm too powerful for you to beat and if you think you can run awa-"

" I just don't understand." The wind master interrupted. "Why does it matter if you have the two of us? Why don't you just keep Lloyd and teach him all about how to use your power? Why can't you just let me finish drowning-yeah I know you were one who saved me I'm not an idiot." The whole time he talked Koso's sedge hat had lowered to the point his eyes became covered by the straw material, leaving his expression unreadable.

  
Not caring of what Koso thought of him The former ghost continued. "Why did you do it? I didn't want to be saved, everything would have been better if you had left me alone and just went after Lloyd, I mean it's not like he isn't used to getting to wield amazing power everyday." Morro mumbled the last part whilst he absent mindedly put a hand to his chest, twisting the grey fabric in a grip so tight it almost seemed as if he was trying to pry his heart out of his chest and squeeze it till it burst. The wind master then let out a sigh as he softly said. "I....I spent my whole life chasing a dream I knew I couldn't have ,but I.."

Morro didn't know why he was telling Koso this ,but maybe he just needed to say this out loud to just tell someone, anyone who wasn't.....Wu.

  
" I really thought, that...if I just wanted it enough ,but you know what!? It was a stupid f**king dream!" The wind master yelled as he lowered his head to stare at the ground while clenching his fists and squeezing his eyes shut. "I...I know that now....and.....and..I was an idiot for thinking I could have anything that made me important." Morro sucked in a breathe whilst trying to collect his thoughts "I.....I..Urgh! Why couldn't you have just left me dead!"

  
After a tense moment filled with nothing ,but the sound of raindrops and thunder.  
Then suddenly Morro felt the left side of his face burning. He didn't even see the slap coming. The black haired boy was hardly surprised, he assumed, that any minute now Koso was going to start barking at him to-  
The wind master almost choked as out of nowhere Koso's right hand shot out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. In a flurry of movement, Morro was suddenly staring Koso right in the sedge hat wearing man's reptilian like eyes, with his feet hanging limply in the air, at least a couple inches from the ground. The rain began hitting the former ghost again as he was wrenched away from the shelter of the tree.

  
Morro vaguely realized another lightening bolt had stricken down. He could hear a surprised bark coming from Jasper, followed by a warning growl. The former ghost barely cared though, because he had bigger problems to focus on, such as the absolutely infuriated expression on Koso's face.

ForgottenFamily

"I.....I..Urgh! Why couldn't you have just left me dead?!"

  
Koso never considered himself to be quick to anger. At least, in the way that he never showed his rage, if he was angered it was usually child's play hiding it behind a mask of smirks and cold deliberate insults.  
However in this point in time, getting drenched by none stop rain, with his favorite white cloak no doubt ruined (at least until he got the chance to perform a drying spell) and hearing this.....impudent, stupid, idiotic, child say those words ignited a fury deep down inside his heart of stone, and Koso couldn't stop himself from grabbing the teenager.  
Truthfully he didn't know what he was thinking.  
All Koso knew was that he was now staring into the hopeless abyss that was Morro's grey green eyes and felt he had to say something, anything!

  
Suddenly, before Koso could stop himself words he couldn't believe he was saying began tumbling out of his mouth.  
"You wanna know why I saved you!" The sedge hat wearing man gave a the boy a rough shake to emphasis his point. "I did it, because whether you like it or not, we're family. If we weren't believe me you wouldn't be alive right now!" Koso all ,but screamed. "and you want to know something else, I never once thought any less of you than that blond brat! I don't care what all those years in the Cursed realm did to you or what anyone else tells you. You two are both equally infuriating in my book!" The sedge hat wearing man had to stop to inhale, he couldn't believe what he was saying. "You act as if there's nothing left for you, just because what? You didn't get awarded some arbitrary label!? The green ninja." Koso said with a less than subtle hint of sarcasm

"For f**k's sakes give me a break. I can count at least a dozen more fancy titles such as that on my hand alone, cause you know what? That's all they are, vapid labels that mean nothing I mean, LOOK AROUND YOU!"  
Koso gestured to the graveyard of lifeless stumps surrounding them. "You can do this and you still think you need to possess some meaningless title to prove yourself!"  
It was at this moment Morro decided to bend his head down and stare at the ground once more.

Letting out a loud sigh Koso continued "I suppose you're wondering how I know so much about your past well I have a confession to make. I lied before when I said I didn't know about what happened between you and Lloyd. Truth is I know about everything ; the cursed realm, the hardships you put Lloyd through, YOU almost releasing a hellish shebeast onto Ninjago."  
The teal eyed man paused to take a breath. "You'd be surprised what a trip to the Ninjago Museum of History can reveal." Koso explained with a humorless laugh. "I thought, that if I left it alone, that if I left the two of you to your own devices you would work these things out on your own."  
The teal eyed man couldn't help ,but scoff before he continued. "Of course nothing can ever be that simple can it-"  
Koso froze as he suddenly felt a drop of water fall upon his right hand. It might have been easy to sweep it off as nothing more than rain, but that was difficult because this particular droplet of liquid felt particularly warm.  
The drenched man could hardly believe what this might entail, but he had to be sure. So as slowly as one might open a strange box that could contain Departed Realm knows what, Koso used his left hand to gently tilt Morro's head upwards.  
As soon as those grey green orbs were within his line of sight, Koso was immediately thrust back sixty-five years ago when his darling Elizabeth had stared up at him with that same teary eyed look. For the life of him he can't remember what it was that upset her. She had been only five after all, what could problems could possibly make her look so........sad.  
Though it was rather simplistic, Koso could think of no better adjective to describe the way she looked at him then.  
Whatever he said to get her to replace that look with her usually bubbly smile is lost to him, but what Koso can remember is how that singular look had made him feel ; like his heart was being ripped out of his chest.  
Koso became so lost in the far away memory he didn't realize he had let Morro go.

ForgottenFamily

As his feet once again became in contact with the ground, Morro felt like he was going to throw up. If he could tear his eyes out of their sockets to save himself from the humiliation he would.  
Against his wishes though, unwanted tears kept pouring out and running down his cheeks at an alarmingly fast rate. It felt like the more he tried to stop them the heavier they came down.  
The wind master thought to make a run for it so at least he could say this embarrassing moment was short lived, but his hopes were soon dashed because as he turned to bolt, he stupidly forgot Jasper was sitting in his path and he ended up tripping over the wolf and falling right back against the oak tree.

  
Jasper let out a whine of concern, whilst quickly darting to Morro's side and soundlessly rubbing his head against the wind master's leg most likely trying to apologize. Letting out a groan, the former ghost turned around so that his back was pressed against the tree.  
Morro was furious to feel the flow of salty tears still streaming down his face, he almost felt like screaming frustration ,but he knew that wouldn't make him stop crying.  
still staring off blankly into space. After a few moments Koso finally moved and it appeared the shock of seeing the wind master cry had worn out and he was slowly coming back to reality.  
A very tense beat of silence-save for the roaring thunder and the loud pitter patter of the rain- passed before suddenly Koso looked right at Morro's who's tears still continued to fall against his will, and the wind master felt his breathe leave him.  
The enraged expression that had existed on Koso's face just a few moments prior was gone and replaced with a look so blank a master of telepathy wouldn't be able to gauge his thoughts.  
For a moment that's all Koso seemed capable of doing ; just standing there. Then before Morro could even properly register it, the sedge hat wearing man was standing right in front of him. He had either moved so fast Morro couldn't have possibly caught him, or the wind master had been to distracting with pointlessly rubbing his arm against his face in a futile attempt to stop the flow of tears still pouring down his face.

  
The former ghost wanted to tear his hair out, he wanted to screech into the void, he wanted to punch Koso right in his stupid face! But....most of all he just wanted to be left alone.  
Morro briefly considered another escape attempt ,but that train of thought was promptly derailed when suddenly he felt cold, wet hands gripping his shoulders. Mustering any pride he had left, the wind master bravely looked up at Koso.  
........If he had wanted to throw up before, he was sure he definitely would now. Not because Koso was giving him a look of contempt ,anger, smugness, or even really pity.  
The way the sedge hat wearing man was looking down upon him, with nothing ,but pure unfiltered sympathy shining in his teal eyes made the boy suddenly long for his sensei.

  
The want sent shivers down the boy's spine ,but it was the truth. He wanted Wu, he wanted his sensei to be here with him telling him everything was going to be okay and that it was alright to cry and show weakness because he was safe, safe because his sensei would be there for him and hold him and no matter how much he broke himself apart Wu,..his...fathe-sensei would always be there to piece him back together.

  
The realization made Morro hunch in on himself. He knew it was stupid, he knew he was being weak ,but.......he just needed to feel like he wasn't falling apart at the seams.  
That was the logic that allowed the wind master to let himself fall into Koso's arms. He didn't care how much this must have shocked the teal eyed man, he didn't care how much of a wet blanket he must look like right now, all Morro cared about was the fact that Koso's white robe despite the fact it was absolutely drenched was close enough of a duplicate to Wu's sensei garb that he could pretend, just for a fleeting second that it was actually Wu who he was sobbing against.

ForgottenFamily

If Koso had been slightly surprised with his own actions before, now he was down right questioning if he had any sanity left.  
The teal eyed man had no idea how to react when Morro had become all ,but thrown himself into his arms. For a moment, Koso just stood there as the wind master's warm tears bled into his already drenched cloak. The sedge hat man might have had the sense to be annoyed if the circumstances were different, but as it were he just couldn't muster the strength. Then without even realizing what he was doing, Koso did something he would have never in a million years have seen himself doing.  
He gently moved his hands down from Morro's shoulders to his forearms and with any thought whatsoever he hesitantly began to capture the child in a very loose embrace

  
As he did this he was vaguely aware that the rain had finally slowed to a stop and the storm seemed to be over. Without the sound of roaring thunder and howling winds pervading the air, all that could be heard was Morro's muffled sobs which seemed to have increased in volume tenfold the minute his forehead touch Koso's chest.  
The sedge hat wearing man sighed in exasperation before he softly began to run his hands up and down the wind master's back.  
Jasper, seeing all of this whined pathetically before wedging himself right up against the back of the former ghost's legs in an obvious attempt to comfort the crying wind master.

  
As Morro continued to hiccup and sob against his chest, Koso had to wonder how he had let himself get into this mess.  
First he saw they boy cry and then he thought of Elizabeth, and then apparently he had thought it was a good idea to approach the boy and.......hold him? Perhaps he should blame old age for this bout of softness and nothing more.  
Koso wasn't quite aware of how long he stood there silently embracing the child in the pitch black, all that he knew was when he had felt Morro's head leave his chest and he looked down to see the wind master's tears were all gone and dried up he couldn't help ,but let out a breath of relief.

  
Koso was even more relieved that when he took the lead back to the cottage, Morro silently followed along without hesitance.


	24. Chapter 23

If there was anything Koso had learned in his thirty two years of living, it was one - that silence was a very precious commodity and two - relief was a very fleeting thing. 

As he began to quietly lead his young, foolish relative back to the cottage, Koso found his previous relief fading quickly as the heavy silence that settled between them began to feel like an enormous weight weighing them both and for the first time in his life the teal eyed man wanted something to break it. 

Alas, the only sounds that could be heard for miles was the noise of Jasper's panting as he repeatedly attempted (and failed) at nuzzling as close to Morro as was physically possible.

Chancing an over the shoulder glance, Koso found his sharp glowing green eyes drawn to the wind master's features. Any average mortal would struggle to see his face through the heavy shroud of darkness ,but for Koso the close descendent of dragon hunters so powerful they could genetically alter their vision to be able to see at night, he had no trouble.   
As Koso looked upon the boy, and saw Morro's blank stare that portrayed no discernable emotion, he felt he had to do, or least say something-anything that would bring this strange, wretched silence to an end.

Hearing the familiar sound of annoyed grunts escaping the wind master, the teal eyed man looked down to see Jasper still nuzzling at the former ghost's heels with more determination than one would believe possible for an animal to possess.  
As Koso witnessed the frankly pathetic display he was once again unwillingly reminded of the past with a familiar conversation between his daughter and wife ringing in his ears.

****

"M-momma?"  
"Yes Sweetheart ?"  
"Why does Jasper always follow me around? Does he like me or something?"  
"Oh honey of course he does! He loves you and wants to make sure you're safe at all times, just like your father and I do. We're family and its our job to look out for each other."  
"Then is Jasper and Daddy always so mean to each other?"  
"Oh...well, they just like to tease each other. Isn't that right dear?"

***

Once again, Koso could not recall his reply, and though the humor of it all was not lost on him none of it really mattered, because he was too focused on the words of his deceased wife that refused to stop repeating over and over again in his mind like the mantra of an insane person.  
'..we're a family and it's our job to look out for each other.'  
'..we're a family.'  
'.look out for each other.'  
'.family..'

As his head became engulfed beneath the wave of Tera's words, Koso suddenly found himself questioning the very mental fabric keeping him together all this time.  
'....Have I...been going about this all wrong?'  
That was certainly what he was beginning to believe every time he looked upon the boy trudging behind him.   
'Elizabeth he's...... so much like you, confident to a fault and hopelessly reckless. I ....I wish you were here. I'm sorry that I had to leave you with Greta. Perhaps....if I had been there for you....like a father should, ..you....you would still be here and your son, wouldn't wish for death so greatly.'  
Risking another glance at Morro's face, Koso almost immediately found himself overcome with a foreign emotion that despite himself he soon identified as something resembling remorse. 

' I wonder what I could possibly be regretting now of all times? ' The teal eyed man couldn't help himself from pondering.   
Perhaps it was the way in which he had treated his charges thus far, or maybe it was how he had acted so callously in the face of their emotional distress time and time again?  
' Wait no,' Koso determinedly thought. 'No, I can't start to feel remorse. Not now. I promised myself I wouldn't treat them like.....like...no don't even think of that. There's nothing else I can offer those boys except this. Once...once I've done that. Then....then I can finally leave this world and see them again.'  
The sound of leftover rain drizzling from the sky and nearby tree tops broke Koso from his thoughts momentarily. As he stared out at the vast nature surrounding them, he couldn't help ,but crack a humorless smirk.

'What a hypocrite am I. Telling Morro he was foolish to depart from this world again, and yet here I am planning on doing the exact same once this is all done and over with.'  
Still even as he called out his own sanctimoniousness, Koso's resolve didn't falter in the slightest.   
He was an entirely different case -at least that what he told himself- because unlike Morro Ninjago didn't need him to continue existing. He was nothing ,but a forgotten relic of a time long past and he had nothing left ,but his family who were waiting for him in some beautiful better afterlife than whatever horrid place his wretched soul had originally been sent to. 

Koso knew this without a shadow of doubt because his wife had told him so.

ForgottenFamily

"Brother....no....please...please please...no I'm sorry..I'm so sorry I didn't mean it....please forgive me...."  
It felt like an eternity since he had heard those words.  
Drifting.....that was all he was capable of doing now. He was nothing ,more than a stray soul floating amidst a sea of endless untamable darkness.  
His only comfort(and burden) was the rage that had wrapped itself around his being like a chain. It was the only thing keeping him tethered to some form of sanity.  
If he had rage, he could still think, he could still feel. 

He still existed. He was not just a shadow of the prideful youth he once was.  
He didn't know how much time had passed, or even if time existed in this awful place, but a part of him was grateful for that fact. The more he thought about what was happening in the world he once called home, the angrier he became.   
As immature as it might have sounded, he really believes this is all phenomenally unfair. He didn't deserve this! He needed to be back in Ninjago, his children were out there on their own and....and.....

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He shouts into the pitch black void. He doesn't have lungs anymore that could possibly be sore from his loud screaming so he doesn't care.   
With no one to witness his outburst, He continues,  
"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME BROTHER?!"

As expected there was not even the slightest sound to answer him.  
"I FOUGHT BY YOUR SIDE! I PROTECTED YOU WITH MY LIFE SINCE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN!"  
He did it because their mother had told him to. He could still remember the way she had told him he was the oldest so it was his job to look out for his younger brother.   
"I WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU THROUGH EVERYTHING AND YET THIS....THIS IS MY REWAR-"

"KOSO!"

If he still possessed a body, all air coming in and out of lungs would have halted as his heart exploded with shock from hearing the sound of a person's voice.  
Koso was so stunned with bewilderment, he almost didn't realize he recognized that voice. Allowing himself a moment to gasp with surprise, accompanied by the feeling of desperate hope that he had not just lost control of his senses and hallucinated it, he quickly searched the expanse of darkness surrounding him without hesitance.   
'It couldn't be...,but...oh please please please PLEASE let it be her. It doesn't matter if it's real just let it be her!'  
For a moment the sheer thought of not seeing the person he desperately wanted to, kept him actually frightened him, and he didn't know what he would do if she wasn't in sight.  
However that dreaded feeling was banished the moment he heard the most beautiful voice in all the world call out to him yet again.  
"Koso!..." 

Using all of the strength and will power he still possessed, Koso spun his spiritual body around and around, clinging to the hope that he if kept trying he would somehow be able to see her. 

Then as if she had read his thoughts like a book, she revealed herself, right in front of him and the moment he saw her, Koso felt like he was staring at an angel. She was just as amazingly breathtaking as the first day they met. Her chestnut brown hair still framed her soft features perfectly and her hazel eyes showed with the familiar gleam of confident intelligence that could never be overshadowed by the unconditional love and admiration she held for his undeserving self.   
'....Tera...' He mindlessly thought before he witnessed his wife's thin lips begin to move.

"Koso....it's okay. I'm here." If he wasn't so completely overjoyed to see the love of his life, Koso might have had the sense to say something in reply ,but as it were all he could do was silently listen to the mantras of "I'm here." that continued to escape Tera's lips as she moved closer and closer before finally embracing him.   
At that point Koso was actually quite glad he didn't have a mortal body anymore because if he did, he had no doubt he would begin to blubber like a newborn babe and make a complete fool of himself.   
Instead of daring to speak for fear his voice would begin wavering, Koso settled for wrapping his arms around his wife and all ,but burying his face in the tangled mess of brown hair that occupied the top of Tera's head.

For a moment (or it could have been longer, Koso could never tell in this strange world) the two lovers just existed there in that vast sea of emptiness with nothing better to do than to bask in the others presence. A part of Koso believed that maybe this was it, they would just spend eternity like this; holding each other until the end of time and he'd be lying if that didn't satisfy him just fine ,but of course with all good things, there must eventually come an end. For after what felt like just the blink of an eye and forever all at once, Tera eventually picked her head up from where it had been firmly planted against Koso's chest. The look in her eyes worried him.  
"Is..Is something wrong my love?" Koso was hoping more than anything he would like the answer.  
For a fleeting second Tera just stared up at him, a small smile gracing her features. Then she did something that surprised him.

She kissed him.

Koso jolted with surprise before returning his wife's advances without hesitance. For a fleeting second utter bliss consumed his entire being and he was able to temporarily forget everything around him except for the woman in front of him.  
When they eventually broke apart, Koso felt like he was weightless and that any moment he was going to just starting floating up and up forever and never come down. 

However that feeling was as fleeting as everything else in his life had been because, when Tera looked upon him once more, he could see the look that had previously worried him was still there. 

Mustering his will, Koso dared to speak again, knowing full well doing so could lead to this wonderful fantasy ending and leaving him alone with no one ,but himself to converse with. 

"Tera...Tera..what's going on? This is the Departed Realm...isn't it? Why have I been alone for so long?"  
For a moment Koso expected her to say that this was all an allusion his exhausted mind had conjured in order to cope with the agony of existing alone like this forever.   
Instead though, Tera simply smiled again, only this time instead of kissing him, her eyes began to shimmer with a kind of desperate longing as she once more wrapped her arms around him, whilst nuzzling her head against his neck. 

Koso thought that this must have definitely been a fantasy ,but before he could voice this epiphany, Tera spoke.  
"My darling.....I.... I missed you so much. You and Elizabeth....and....Grant."  
Koso stiffened as he heard the name of his son uttered from her lips. The memory of his baby boy's fate flashing inside his mind like a horrible picture show.  
"Oh Tera....I'm so sorry. I failed you completely. I couldn't protect our children! I left Elizabeth with your sister ,but Grant he-"  
"Shhh. It's okay" Tera soothed as Koso felt his ghostly body begin to shake uncontrollably. "I know you did your best, husband."

"It was all his fault!" Koso shouted as he recalled the image of his brother standing over his dying body. The familiar feeling of anger began to once again tighten itself around his psyche and he became so enraptured in his own rage he almost didn't notice the feeling of Tera abandoning his embrace and backing away to put distance between them.  
Panicked at the feeling of missing warmth, Koso turned his shocked eyes to his wife and frantically began to shout.   
"Tera! Where are you going?!"  
The saddened look plaguing her beautiful features made his non existent heart beat right out of his chest.  
"I....I can't stay here husband."

"What?!" If Koso had been in his right mind he would have most definitely cringed at his pathetic sounding tone.  
"I...I'm sorry darling. If I could stay here forever I would." To emphasize her point Tera came towards him again and gently grasped his hand, whilst letting her delicate thumbs rub against his knuckles with such tenderness, Koso almost felt himself fall into another state of bliss.  
",but....I...I can't. The departed realm won't let me."

Koso tilted his head in reply to a silent question all on its own. Obviously sensing her husband's confusion, Tera continued. "Darling, this world its....its only a part of the Departed realm, this...this is where the souls who are still angry with Ninjago must reside."  
Tera paused, most likely so Koso could let her words sink in.  
"Husband......you have so much....rage and...that's what’s keeping you here. I...I need you to let it go."  
Koso stared at his wife in reply. He waited for even the slightest sign that this was some kind of bizarre jest.  
It never came.

Letting out a breath of frustration, Koso felt himself about to pointlessly argue with her. Tell her that he every d**n right to be angry with how his life turned out. He was abandoned by his coward of a father at birth! His mother was burned alive by her own people! He was murdered by his brother and more than all of that He would never get to see his children grow up..... 

For the briefest of seconds, Koso found his eternal rage momentarily replaced by the feeling of sadness as he stared down upon his adoring wife who once again smiled at him sympathetically whilst she lifted a hand to gently rest against his face.   
As Tera's thumb brushed against his lip, the mother of his offspring seized the opportunity to stand on her tiptoes so that she would gain enough height to be able to press her forehead against his. 

Koso sighed as he recognized the familiar gesture of comfort.  
"It's okay husband. I understand heh, you always were so stubborn.....,but do not worry. You're going to get your chance at closure soon enough."  
Koso's eyes widened tremendously as he leaned back to stare his wife in the eye.

Her features once again portrayed no trace of humor.  
"Your fate has been decided." She explained. "Do you remember what you did before you passed? You cast a spell darling."  
Koso's mind spurned with great velocity as he desperately tried to remember the so-called spell she was referring to.   
Multiple symbols he had memorized throughout his life had flashed through his mind at the moment of his demise. To recall a specific one seemed nigh on impossible at the moment.

Either uncaring of or oblivious to her husband's confusion, Tera continued. " You cast a spell on the realm crystal, and one day when it breaks you'll be brought back to Ninjago...alive"  
"What!?" Koso shouted in reply. He couldn't believe it. He didn't even remember casting the blasted spell.   
"Darling," Tera spoke, interrupting his thoughts, "You'll be given a second chance. What you do with it is up to you, but whatever you decide please I beg of you do whatever it will take for you to find peace and finally move on. Once you can do that, the day you once again pass into this world we'll be able to be together again."  
As his mind strained to get a proper grasp on the mountain of possibilities this entailed, the one thing that brought Koso back to reality was the utterance of those words.  
".....together?"

"Yes darling!" Tera breathed excitedly. "Yes, just do as I have said and all will be well!" With that she began to steadily walk away.  
"Wait! No!" Koso called after her. For some reason he couldn't move to go after her. "Please don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry husband!" She shouted, without turning back. "I have no choice, I must return. Just remember what I have told you and don't lose hope Koso! Everything will turn out okay! We'll all see each other again I promise! I love you!" As the distance between them steadily became greater, her yells of reassurances grew quieter and quieter, until finally they were only an echo in Koso's mind and not even a trace of her being could be seen to evidence her existence.   
Alone once more, he did the only thing he could think to do. He screamed into the endless nothingness. 

"TERA!"

As before, there was not even a single sound to answer him.


	25. Chapter 24

Now that the storm had had time to completely die out, the dark clouds hovering above the two men and their canine companion began to slowly fade and give way to the bright night sky-shining down upon the path back to their lodgings like a theatre stage.

As they finally began to near the old cottage, Koso allowed himself to ease ever so slightly under the suffocating mountain of tension he had found himself supporting the second they had left the forest.

After chancing yet another over the shoulder glance at his grandchil- _**relative**_ , the sorcerer couldn't stop himself from releasing a silent breath of relief that the naked eye would have never been able to detect.

However the small repose that simple action had granted him was all too soon washed out with his own self loathing.

'Stop worrying you old fool. It's not like you wouldn't be able to catch him if he decided to run off again…even if he did decide to use his powers.…wait what if he does. How am I supposed to keep track of a flying teenager? I knew I should have kept the vengestone on the Oh just _perfect_ I've sunk so low I'm beginning to sound like a paranoid housewife.'

Even still, Koso couldn't find it in himself to stop frequently checking behind him just to make sure the silence between them was a result of Morro's own stubbornness and not because the boy had already run off again and the two figures following behind him were just figments manifested by his deluded time the entire time.

'This is ridiculous.' The sorcerer spitefully told himself as they finally reached the cottage and quietly entered through the hollow entrance.

After making a quick mental note to begin fixing the door's hedges at morning's first light, Koso quickly turned to face Morro and tell him to go to bed however before the words could leave him, the raven haired boy had already made his way down the cottage's short and narrow hallway with Jasper right behind him and silently slipped into his room.

For a moment all Koso could do was stand there blinking like a stunned fool until finally he regained control of his senses and allowed an annoyed huff to escape him.

The nerve of that ungrateful little- well no matter Koso was sure his brilliant mind would be sure to come up with some form of proper retaliation later.

As silence engulfed him once again, the sorcerer finally began to feel the exhaustion weighing on him like a boulder.

'I suppose I should follow my own advice.' With that thought in mind Koso silently began to end his night the way he had every other for the entirety of his stay in modern Ninjago, by making his way to the oversized piece of furniture that modern he believed Ninjagians referred to as a couch.

As the teal eyed man eased himself onto its admittedly comfortable surface he couldn't help but feel the familiar sense of absurdity he felt every time he had to lay himself to rest on the blasted thing. Why did if he have to listen to that swindler of a tradesman and purchase the stupid item when he could have just bartered for a third bed instead? He supposed if nothing else he could blame it on his naivety of the modern world.

'Although I suppose it _is_ a better fit for such a small space.' Koso surmised as he laid himself down upon the _couch_ before taking the time to remove his hat and set it on the ground.

As the room eventually settled into stillness, the teal eyed man found himself unable to support the tremendous weight of his eyelids and before he could berate himself for being such an old man, he was already thrown into the realm of unconsciousness.

_**ForgottenFamily** _

" _Brother watch out!"_

_Spinning around and ducking underneath the arm of the stone warrior standing behind him he was quick to make short work of the mindless soldier with a brash hit to his- no its, ITS they weren't people!- chest with the hilt of his sword causing the creature to fly backward long enough for him to dart to the cover of a nearby trench._

_With chaos going on all around him and sweat pouring out of his skin at a phenomenal rate, Koso quickly turned his attention to the crouched figure beside him; his brother. From the looks of it, his little warning had cost him another set of cuts to match the ones he sustained from the last battle._

_Fixing his sibling with his signature penetrating gaze it wasn't long before the panting teenager cracked and spoke to him._

" _I'm not sorry" He said in a hushed raspy voice. "I know you say I shouldn't be focused on you during battle ,but that one almost got you and if I hadn't had said something-"_

" _Then I would have to live with consequences for not being diligent enough." Came Koso's sharp retort. "That's how it's supposed to be, you stay focused on your opponent and I mine, other wise you let your own guard down to worry about me and next thing you know-"_

" _I'm dead. I know I know ,but I'm still not sorry! I'd rather_ _ **die**_ _than watch you get killed!"_

" _..._

… _..._

 _..._ _ **liar**_ "

_**ForgottenFamily** _

"Urghhhh" Koso groaned as he slowly sat himself up whilst rolling his shoulders back as the remnants of his dream slowly faded away to recesses of his mind. When he eventually found the will to open his teal eyes, he was immediately met with the sight of moonlight pouring in through the hollow doorway of his cottage home.

Feeling thoroughly annoyed with himself for waking up in the middle of the night and content to try (and most likely fail) to fall back asleep, Koso began to ease himself back down onto the couch.

However before the sorcerer's eyes could close again, his senses were suddenly reawakened by the sound of a soft whisper ringing out like a gunshot in the still room.

"Hey wait, I...I need to talk to you."

Koso froze. He...He recognized that voice. With his amazing speed, the sorcerer shot to his feet as his sharp eyes began to frantically search every nook and cranny for the source of _that_ voice. After a few moments passed Koso began to shake with the unfamiliar feeling of panic as he found no trace of evidence that the voice he was _sure_ he had heard, was not just a manifestation of his _terrific_ imagination.

However before the teal eyed man could sink any further into the belief that his mind had succumbed to madness, the voice spoke again, and this time the image of a young woman dressed in shabby clothing, with shoulder length black hair that would have been hard to notice in a crowd if it didn't adorn a very notable bright green stripe accompanied it.

"Hello father.."

All breath left Koso's lungs as his eyes widened to an uncharastically almost comical size and he could only conjure one word-or rather name- to mentally scream inside his head.

'ELIZABETH!'

This,...no this couldn't be possible, this couldn't be her! He had seen her tombstone. Greta had told him!

And yet as Koso continued to observe the young lady standing before him he could not muster even the slightest doubt that this _was_ his daughter. The fact that she also looked so much different from when she was just a child did not serve to hinder him from believing it at all either.

After a few moments passed and Koso's heart eventually started again as he managed to inhale air back into his lungs Elizabeth broke the silence between them by speaking again ,but not before letting a small breath giggle escape her as she rubbed the back of her neck like a nervous school girl.

"S-sorry I...I didn't mean to scare you."

"Elizabeth…you're...you… you've grown..." Koso finally managed to say as he took a step forward and attempted to rest a hand upon her shoulder. That action soon proved to be quite difficult….mainly because his hand went right through her.

Jumping back slightly Koso let out a small gasp before-after a moment's confusion- realization suddenly dawned on him.

"This….this is another dream isn't it?"

When Elizabeth's only response was a tight lipped frown as she avoided eye contact with him he received his answer.

After taking a moment to berate himself for his own naive foolishness, Koso spoke again.

"Then,...then you're not really Elizabeth are you? You're just something my deluded mind conjured up because I….I…" Koso paused to let out a sigh and get his thoughts back on track before he continued. "I'm a fool, an old hopeless fool who can't get it together."

His daughter took a moment to decrease the amount of space between them until she was gazing right up at him. Her blue eyes shined in the moonlight as she stared at him.

"No, you're not, listen to me dad this may be a dream ,but it's the real Elizabeth who's talking to you right now. I swear."

For the life of him, Koso couldn't stop a small part of him from wanting to believe her.

So after letting out a small humorless laugh the teal eyed man found himself saying "Alright, then I suppose it couldn't hurt to allow myself to indulge this one illusion."

The annoyed look Elizabeth sent his way made Koso's heart ache as he fondly remembered that same expression present on her five year old face when she had just been told she couldn't stay up all night just because it was Day of the Departed.

"So….may I ask, why have you come here?" Koso asked earnestly as he watched Elizabeth's still so very youthful features soften in reply before she began to respond.

"To tell you the truth, dad, mom sent me. She's worried about you. Well we all are ,but she's _really_ worried"

Upon the intense gaze Elizabeth sent his way that made every word she spoke seem like fact, Koso couldn't stop his throat from constricting in on itself. Still there was nothing stopping him from attempting to brush it off with another humorless laugh.

" Is she now?"

"Do you not believe me father?" Elizabeth asked with the familiar no nonsense tone that used to accompany every word she spoke with. Koso couldn't help ,but feel happy that his delusional mind could at least still remember that much about his own daughter

"I don't know what to believe anymore." Came the teal eyed man's honest reply.

Elizabeth's features once again softened as she let out a small sigh in response.

"This..this is what mom was worried about. Dad you can't keep going on like this."

Koso didn't mean to scoff at his own daughter (or his mind's twisted premonition of her) ,but he had just been so tired of being told that same sentimental lesson over and over again he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Dad, I'm serious." Elizabeth warned, taking a step back most likely so that her intense glare would seem more intimidating. "I mean just look at you! You torture yourself every night by trying to sleep on _that_ instead of just using your and mom's old room. Hell you even cast an invisibility spell on the f**king door just so no one could fin-"

" Alright enough!" Koso yelled, cutting her off. "I...I know," He admitted like a guilty criminal trying to clear their conscience before they were executed. "And...and I'm trying." He explained straining to keep eye contact with his daughter's knowing stare. "I'm trying to move on, so...so I can be with you all again and once...once I've finished training those boys I'll be able to di-"

"No father that's not what I'm talking about!" Elizabeth interrupted her voice ringing with an edge of what could only be described as frantic desperation and worry.

Despite his best efforts Koso could not hide the shock that washed over him as he heard those words. What was she saying? Then as if Elizabeth had heard him, she began to elaborate after taking a breath to presumably calm herself down..

"What I meant was that you need to stop living in the past! We've all passed and...there's nothing that can change that now, but dad ..you….you've been given a second chance and...we… _I_ can't just sit back and watch you waste it."

"I..I don't understand." Koso admitted as he tiredly stared down at his deceased daughter.

When a moment of complete and utter silence passed between them the sorcerer was beginning to believe this was the part where he woke up. However he was soon proven wrong when in an ironic twist of fate Elizabeth raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.

Almost instantly their surroundings melted away around them like an oil painting and shifted until they were both suddenly standing in the middle of Lloyd and Morro's bedroom.

Despite himself Koso found it gratingly difficult to not become at least slightly dizzy at the change in scenery.

When he did finally regain complete control of his senses, Koso quizzically looked back to his daughter, whose gaze was fixed on the sleeping ravenette whose unconscious body was all ,but buried under Jasper's fur coat.

Had this been reality, Koso was sure Elizabeth would have broken down into tears at the sight of her son.

As it were though, the only reaction she allowed herself to display was one of solderady as she continued to silently stare at Morro's sleeping form.

After a few moments of silence that could have passed for the mourning kind only seen at funerals, Elizabeth seemed to have realized her father was staring at her.

As she turned back to face him, Koso took immediate notice of the glazed over look in her bright blue eyes ,but he didn't make mention of it aloud. If this was really his daughter, that last thing he wanted was to cause her more pain.

Then as if nothing had happened in the first place Elizabeth began to speak again ,but not before stretching her arms out to gesture to the two boys sleeping across from one another.

"Can't you see?" She asked, her voice hoarse with a variety of emotions. "You think that your family is in the Departed Realm ,but it's also here! Within _them_. That's why you need to stop treating them like this. It's as you said they're _family_ and I know for a fact you wouldn't have dreamed of ever treating me,mom, or Grant like this."

As soon as the name of his son rolled off Elizabeth's tongue Koso couldn't stop himself from flinching as unwanted memories flooded inside his mind. After a few minutes when he managed to recover, Koso looked back to his daughter's blue pupils, whose gaze made him cringe with new found guilt.

"I...I'm sorry Elizabeth. I know you think me cruel and you'd be right..I know that I haven't treated them as _kindly_ as I could and I will _try_ to do better in the coming future ,but...you're wrong….they...they don't _need_ me." The teal eyed man admitted as he allowed his eyes to wander over to the sleeping forms of his young relatives. "and..Ninjago doesn't need me. All I am is a relic from a time long forgotten and there's nothing I can give this world, much less _them_ except for-"

"Your elemental power." Elizabeth interrupted as her signature no nonsense tone reared its ugly head yet again. "Dad please stop trying to fool yourself!" She begged with no hint of humor present in her voice. " Whether you want to believe it or not, trying to bury the truth will only make everything worse. Once they eventually find out, things will-"

"They won't _find out_ anything," Koso said, cutting her off. "and revealing the truth would only cause more unnecessary pain."

"For them or for you?" Came Elizabeth's earnest reply.

Feeling thoroughly exhausted from the tirade of emotions this one single conversation was evoking from him, Koso found himself unable to muster a reply that wasn't drowned out by more sighing.

"What does it matter what I say?" Koso honestly asked. "This...this is all just in my head, and when I open my eyes you'll...you'll be gone."

As silence settled between them yet again, Koso couldn't help ,but feel as if he had made a mistake with those words. However before he could have time to beat himself up over it, Elizabeth raised her right hand again and Koso somehow instinctively surmised tha once she snapped her fingers the dream would end. So before she could he quickly started to yell.

"Wait!" Elizabeth paused before turning to meet her father's green eyes. " If you're really her there's one last thing I….I need to know …how...did you..."

"Die?" Elizabeth guessed with a raised eyebrow. When Koso nodded in reply her bright blue eyes turned down to stare at the floor as she bit her lip before responding.

"I….I really f**ked up and….let myself freeze to death. It was a really bad winter," She explained tersely obviously hoping her father wouldn't press her on the traumatic experience.

Koso didn't

" and I don't have anyone else to blame except for myself." Elizabeth admitted an less than subtle attempt to ease her father's guilt over the matter as she raised her right hand once more to snap her fingers.

As Koso awaited to be woken up he heard his daughter speak one last time before she allowed him to be pulled back into reality.

"I wasn't able to be there for my son, Dad. I'm hoping you will though."


	26. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically Lloyd and Jasper bond.

Lloyd groaned as the sun's morning rays illuminated his side of the room, effectively rousing him from the realm of unconsciousness.

After taking a moment to rise into a seated position, he wiped the last bit of sleep from his eyes whilst taming his unruly bed head. Lloyd slowly shifted his gaze toward the opposite side of the room. The green ninja wasn't sure what he had expected to see but when he was met with the sight of a sleeping Jasper as the only occupant of Morro’s bed he couldn’t stop the plethora of perplexing thoughts that entered his mind. 

'Did they make it back last night?' Lloyd mentally asked as he noticed with much annoyance the dull ache of chaffed skin caused by the vengestone chains still present upon his wrists. 

Surely they had to have come back, for whatever reason Jasper seemed truly attached to Morro. There's no way the Nira wolf would leave the wind master out in the storm last night. Right?

After wasting a minute re-scanning the room in order to be sure he had not somehow missed something, the blonde stretched his aching back- probably a cause of yesterday's new training regimen- before getting out of bed and briskly making his way out of the room.

Walking with measured steps down the dark empty hallway, Lloyd listened closely for any hint of sound that could attest to human life nearby. As his ears were graced with nothing more than the sound of creaking floorboards it suddenly struck the blonde that this was the first time in two weeks he had been able to wake up at his own time. Of all the luxuries the energy master missed from home,it was strange to think something as small as sleeping in a little later would be one of them. 

As the end of the hall drew closer and closer, Lloyd began to see a dark silhouette standing at the very edge. After sucking in a breath and stepping closer, the blonde didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned when he saw an all too familiar strip of green hair.

"Hey what are yo-" Lloyd trailed off as his attempt to make sense of what was going on was abruptly shut down by a harsh glare and Morro's overly aggressive hushing.

Arching an eyebrow, the green ninja abandoned hope of getting answers from his fellow captive as he leaned past the former ghost to see what he was so fixated on looking at.

The sight Lloyd was met with almost drew a startled gasp from him.

Koso- obviously unaware of their prying eyes- appeared to have just woken up as he sat upon the cottage's strangely modern couch whilst letting out an uncharacteristically tired yawn that lacked any semblance of snarky elegance the sword master had presented to his captives thus far. The teal eyed man's movements seemed lazily slow compared to his usual quick precision as he stretched his limbs out like an old man upon a Sunday morning. It was almost comical, all that was missing was a cliche complaint about minor back pains. 

The green ninja could only stare in bewilderment as he continued to witness this rare moment of vulnerability that, as stupid as it may sound he had not believed Koso capable of expressing. Hell, until now the blonde had begun to think the man possessed no human qualities beyond surface level arrogance that was all too common in most of his prior foes.

When Koso suddenly turned, Lloyd feared he had finally realized their presence however the blonde's short lived theory was almost immediately dismantled when the ravenette simply bent down to retrieve his straw hat. As the green ninja leaned closer though he saw that the black wrappings adorning Koso's arms were now considerably loose with the ones on his left sagging just enough to show off a sliver of the skin beneath.

Granted it wasn't much to look at, but that didn't stop Lloyd’s perceptive eyes from noticing a flash of angry red skin peeking out from the confines of the bandages' shadow. 

'His arms are injured? What the he-' The energy master's thoughts were cut through like a knife against butter when he realized all too late that he was leaning ahead too far to keep balance and his body came crashing to the ground with a loud _ thud. _

Predictably enough that was enough to alert Koso of both his and Morro's existence, as evidenced by the pair of boot wearing feet that appeared within his line of vision in a matter of seconds. 

Ignoring Morro's muttered insult towards him, Lloyd quickly stood himself up.

'Wow.. he looks like sh*t.' was the first coherent thought that popped into the blonde’s mind as he stared up into the tired eyes of his captor( made somewhat difficult by the loose strands of untamed raven hair obscuring his view).

"Well, glad to see your poor stealth skills have improved. I dare say there's still hope for you yet." 

Despite his minimal effort the energy master couldn’t help mentally rolling his eyes at the cheap remark as the vengestone around his wrists disappeared with the quick snap of Koso's fingers.

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

As Lloyd happily snuck Jasper multiple spoonfuls of oatmeal under the table, he realized Morro looked no less disheveled than Koso. 

Under the scrutiny of sunlight - that was pouring in through the cottage's multiple windows- the wind master's hair looked amazingly unkempt (not that that was anything too out of the ordinary) ,with his grey-green eyes weighed down by the startling amount of bags under them.

The energy master didn't know what had happened last night ,but he had to assume it had some kind affect on his 'companions', because neither of them so much as acknowledged his persistent prompting on the matter. 

As the blonde risked another downward glance at Jasper (very glad the smell of food had woken the energetic wolf up) he couldn't help but mentally sigh whilst he absentmindedly thought. 

'I think you and I are the only sane ones left here.'

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Lloyd couldn't remember ever crashing so hard into a bed( save for after he had defeated the overlord, was rescued from Morro, and escaped the volcano fire palace as a child with Kai).

The blonde didn't know how it was possible ,but despite Koso's obvious exhaustion he had somehow managed to push both him and Morro even further past their limits during sparring. It had taken so much out of both the teenagers they didn't even offer a farce protest when Koso began to carry them back up the cave's stairwell.

However none of it seemed to make a difference during their dreaded meditation time.

When it had eventually ended and there was  _ nothing _ to show for on both his and Morro's end, Lloyd had to try very hard to squelch the feeling of utter despair worming its way up his spine that refused to go away long after they had sat down for dinner that evening. 

The blonde shuddered as his mind was once again overcome with anxiety. Wanting to rid himself of it, Lloyd quickly searched the small bedroom for a distraction.

Though his options were scarce, the green ninja didn't have to look too hard before the perfect source of entertainment presented itself right before him. 

Morro and Jasper. 

Despite the feeling a mix of annoyance and jealously invoked whenever he watched the wolf follow Morro around like a devoted puppy, Lloyd had to admit that after a while, watching the wind master angrily try to get Jasper to leave him alone had begun to be kind of amusing(mostly due to the fact he always failed miserably).

Tonight appeared to be no acceptation with Jasper sprawled out on the former ghost's bed and Morro uselessly ordering the canine to get off. 

In spite of his efforts, Lloyd couldn't hold back the small chuckle that escaped him as he leaned back with his arms crossed behind his head.

As anyone would expect, that got the wind master's attention.

"Shut up! This isn't funny!" 

Oh First Spinjitzu Master help him, Morro's mad tone made it even funnier. 

It took a few moments for Lloyd to eventually recover from his fit of laughter ,but when he eventually did the green ninja couldn't stop himself from carelessly saying,

"Okay Kai, I'l-" The green ninja froze, choking on his words as if they were acid whilst an ice cold wave of reality washed over him. 

What did he just say?!

Without realizing it, Lloyd's breathing had begun to pick up pace.

He just...he didn't mean to say that.... it's just...he had...Morro was ..No! Kai wasn't anything like Morro! He wasn't! He was-

Lloyd's erratic thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he felt a shift in weight upon his bed. Looking up from the hands he hadn't realized he covered his face with, the green ninja was immediately met with the sight of Jasper staring down at him.

For a moment the blonde could only lay there in shock before he was forced to break into another fit of laughter when Jasper decided to lick up and down his face like he was a plate of leftover chicken. Lloyd's involuntary reaction was made worse by the canine's massive fur coat tickling the sensitive nerves on his skin. For the life of him the energy master had no idea how all this time Morro had managed to never so much as smile when Jasper was near.

After a few moments passed, Lloyd found himself so immersed in the canine's attention he had almost forgotten his surroundings. 

"Who's a good boy? You're a good boy? Yes you are. Yes you are."

The blonde would've been happy to spend the rest of his life laying there petting the affectionate wolf, however fate had yet to be kind to him and so his time with Jasper was soon cut short when the canine seemed to realize Lloyd had recovered from his earlier distress.

Without so much as a farewell- because he was wolf incapable of speech -Jasper jumped off of the green ninja's bed and sprinted towards Morro's.

As the blonde watched the retreating animal he found himself almost startled when he saw Morro staring at him. Lloyd wasn't sure if he had gone insane already ,but he almost thought he saw concern present in the wind master's pale features. 

Whatever the blonde had seen, it was gone within a matter of seconds, replaced by a look of alarm as the former ghost had apparently realized he had been caught. 

It was almost comical considering he had shown much less emotion earlier when confronted by their actual captor.

Before the ravenette could launch into a (most likely defensive) explanation, Lloyd had already begun speaking.

"Uh..hey..sorry..about earlier. Today's just _ weird _ ." The blonde didn't feel like wasting the energy  **(no pun intended)** overly explaining. The former ghost had been in his head before, he probably had a good idea about what had been going through the green ninja's mind when he had called him........that name. 

With the candle light around them beginning to dim the energy master- wanting the day to just be over- had begun pulling on his covers when he was suddenly caught off guard by the sound of Morro's voice.

"Wait!" The wind master's demand was so uncharacteristically timid, Lloyd almost believed that Jasper had learned to talk.

Sighing, the green ninja turned his face sideways against his pillow to face the former ghost.

As emerald eyes met grey-green, the blonde found himself once again questioning his sanity when he saw the almost nervous expression Morro wore. 

For all intents and purposes the wind master looked as if he hadn't expected Lloyd to actually hear him.

"I...I..You were right."

Oh great it finally happened! He, Lloyd Montegomery Garmadon had officially lost his mind.

"Umm what about?"

"I can't read...or write" The wind master admitted sounding even more uncharacteristically soft spoken. " but now I want to, and...I need you to teach me how."

Lloyd couldn't stop the choked off gasp that escaped him as he took in Morro's words. This couldn’t be reality. Maybe today’s training had actually gone amazingly well and he had accidentally fallen into an alternate dimension.

"Wait what? I don't-"

"You can say no!" The former ghost cut him off yet again. "I just....if you do then I...I'll figure out a way to pay you back somehow..I swear!..So....Will you do it?!"

For the life of him,Lloyd couldn't even begin to fathom the reasoning behind what he said next. He didn’t think 

"Yeah sure,...umm. Maybe we can start tomorrow, after dinner."

Today really was a weird day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So sorry this upload took so long. I've just had some crazy stuff happen recently ,but I feel like things are starting to get back on track now. Thank you all for being so patient.


	27. Chapter 26

“Look I don’t know how many times I have to say it, We didn’t do nothing!”

As Kai stared down the tattooed thief currently handcuffed to the interrogation table, he couldn’t resist entertaining the idea of throwing his chair through the two way mirror if for nothing else then to alleviate some of his frustration. The criminal’s name was Anthony Casterbrooke, a small time crook guilty of nothing more than the occasional petty theft. Apparently he had grown tired of the small game though and wanted to steal something bigger,something that would make his name known in Ninjago’s underground crime syndicate at least according to his ‘partners’ anyway. The two goons were all too quick to put the blame on him after their arrest, saying he was the one in charge, the one who planned out the entirety of the attempted realm crystal heist.

Kai didn’t know if that was entirely true or not and frankly he didn’t care. All that mattered was getting answers. For Lloyd.

“I just find it interesting that just two f**king weeks after we got you idiots arrested my brother goes missing.”

“Are you f**king serious dude!? We were in Kryptarium the whole time and even if we weren’t you really think we could do something like that, to the f**king green ninja?! ” The criminal shouted back, tactically abandoning any remaining sense of pride for fear of invoking even more of the fire master’s vengeful wrath. 

“Oh believe me I don’t doubt that for a second, no what I’m thinking is that maybe you have a boss we don’t know about, and maybe he got really pissed when his goons couldn’t get the job done.” Kai theorized his tone of absolute certainty, starkly contrasting to the off the walls hypothesis he was crazily spouting out.

“Hmph.” 

“Something amusing?”

“Yeah.” The thief admitted once he had recovered, his gravelly voice riding on the edge of sarcasm. “Your stupidity is just ...hilarious if I’m being honest. I mean f**king hell dude, you know not everything that happens to your little boys and girls club is the result of some criminal mastermind! Did it even occur to you that maybe the little green b**ch just ran off on his own, f**k maybe he just got tired of all you r*****ed c***-”

Whatever else Anthony had left to spout out would forever be unknown because it’s hard to talk when you’re being grabbed around the throat and hoisted out of your seat like a rag doll. Kai knew he must have looked murderous - guys like Anthony didn’t drop their tough guy act for nothing- ,but he didn’t care. He just wanted the dumb f**k to shut up already.

“If you say another f**king word I swear I’ll-”

“Kai! Stop!” The sound of Zane’s metallic voice filled the small room. Soon accompanying it was the nindroid’s arms latching around Kai’s shoulders unrelenting in the process of dragging him away from the fearful thief.

Before the fire master could process what was happening he was already being pushed through the door with the sound of Andrew gasping for breath quickly drowned out by Zane’s rapid fire questioning.

“Kai, are you okay? Do you know where you are? Do you feel-”

“Why did you do that?! He was just about to...” The red ninja trailed, immediately regretting snapping when he saw the intensity of his brother’s urgent stare all ,but triple. “Look I’m sorry it’s just I thought if I could just get a lead or _something_ then-”

“It’s okay Kai. That’s not important right now. There’s something I need to tell you.” Zane explained cutting the brunette off.

“What is it?”

“This morning after you left, Jay and I found a letter out on the front deck. I decided to analyze handwriting and...it matched Lloyd’s at 100%”

“...WHAT!?!”

  
  
  
  


**_ForgottenFamily_ **

**_1 day prior_ **

  
  


‘Ok ok, deep breaths. C’mon Lloyd you can do this! You have to!’

Lloyd’s eyes could have bulged out of his sockets with the intensity in which he was trying to concentrate.

Varied mantras of self assurance were set on repeat within the blonde’s mind as he focused the rest of his dwindling energy supply on sitting perfectly still against the trunk of the tree he had chosen to meditate under.

He channeled all of his effort into sparring, especially passionate that day. Koso said he needed to be tired, well he was definitely f**king tired right now.

Any doubt still left within his mind about the validity of Koso’s many less than believable claims had all but been shoved to the back of his mind, as the central goal of getting _something_ to happen took priority.

If he could just do that then he could send his letters and maybe just maybe they could figure out some miraculous way to find him. Most importantly though, his mom, Kai, everyone would know he was alright, that he was alive and not being subjugated to horrific tortures. Lloyd felt no _knew_ , that he needed to do this, if for no other reason than to soothe the mental anguish he knows he selfishly puts them through everytime he lets his stupid idiotic self get captured.

‘C’mon Lloyd you’ve moved a f**king mountain. This should be easy compared to that. C’mon in and out,in and out-’

“Alright then, times up. That will be all for today.”

  
  


**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Koso had never considered himself especially sympathetic. How anyone who lived a life similar to his own could be would always be one of the great mysteries forever lost to him.

However he would have in his possession the silver tongue of the greatest courtesan to have ever lived if he claimed the way Lloyd refused to so much acknowledge the cooked rabbit in front of him didn’t at the very least cause him to feel a _little_ concerned. Tonight his ongoing hunch about Lloyd sneaking food to Jasper under the table had finally been confirmed when he caught the blonde trying to feed the dog the entirety of his dinner.

“You do realize that ogling at your food like a simpleton will not make it suddenly disappear.”

For a moment- while it was clear the brat had heard him- it appeared Lloyd had yet to realize Koso was speaking to him.

Despite his agitation, the teal eyed man could somewhat understand. Most of his scolding _was_ usually directed at his other ungrateful charge.

“You are also aware that the same applies to me as well? Lloyd?” Koso prompted again. If the blonde ignored him a second time at least he wouldn’t be able to excuse his rudeness on mere confusion.

“I’m not hungry.” The green ninja softly replied, his declaration soon followed by the act of pushing his plate towards the other end of the table. Jasper looked as if he could have cried at how easy it would be for him to knock the food to the floor, the only thing halting him from doing so a sharp glare from Koso letting the wolf know his actions would bring nothing ,but brutal retaliation (most likely in the form of being locked outside a couple nights).

“Is that so?” Koso asked once he had turned his attention back to his young relative.

The blonde’s somber nod would have broken the heart of any woman, but of course Koso with his stone heart was completely and utterly unmoved. That’s why he didn’t even hesitate to continue badging the boy.

“Well perhaps I sho-”

“Can I be excused?”

“No.” The teal eyed man responded without thinking whilst unknowingly narrowing his eyes. “ You can’t. In fact you can sit here all night if you want because you’re not leaving until you eat.” The straw hat wearing man explained whilst effortlessly pushing Lloyd’s discarded plate back towards him.

The blonde’s green eyes widened almost immediately as a dark red hue began to bloom across his pale face, whether it was due to embarrassment, anger, or a mixture of the two only the brat himself would ever know.

“Are you serious?!” Lloyd asked incredulously, his angered tone now drawing Morro’s attention as well. Sparing a brief glance at the ravenette, Koso was almost surprised when he saw a hint of what appeared to be worry flash within the wind master’s grey-green irises.

“Yes.” Came the straw hat wearing man’s blunt reply. “Have I ever not been thus far?” Koso mockingly asked.

“This is ridiculous. _You’re_ ridiculous.” Something within Koso’s vast intuition told him the energy master was referring to more than just this specific instance.

“If you’re going to do nothing but throw pointless insults around then there isn’t really a purpose to this conversation is there?” Koso quickly retorted, ignoring the irony behind _him_ of all people stating that.

Lloyd’s response came in the form of slouching back into his chair and continuing to ignore his dinner whilst continuously mumbling what the sorcerer could only assume was a long list of the aforementioned pointless insults.

For a moment Koso could only watch the irritating display in silent awe before the need to verbalize his visible annoyance was just too immensely powerful to resist.

“You know mumbling to yourself isn’t really the alternative I had in mind.”

Logically the teal eyed man knew he should have expected another petulant form of retaliation, however he couldn’t quite deny the fact he was a little taken aback

when Lloyd slowly lifted his head back up to glare at him. It wasn’t so much the blatant vexation in his expression that caught Koso off guard -Departed Realm knows he’s more than used to seeing that emotion flared up around his presence (mostly whenever he comes across a reflective surface)- so much as the underlying despair accompanying it.

“Would you just-can’t you just leave me alone!?”

_“-Why couldn't you have just left me dead?!"_

‘Why do I keep getting into these situations with them? Am I truly so horrible? Tera if you can hear my pleas won’t you take mercy on an old soul and help me out a little down here?’

Without realizing it, the ravenette had unintentionally allowed his mental sigh to cross over from the realm of reality causing Lloyd to arch a sweaty brow in confusion.

“..uh....Koso?”

“That’s enough. Finish your dinner.” Koso snapped, hoping his firmness was intimidating enough to disguise the subtle embarrassment that had only briefly made an appearance upon his customary stern visage.

The energy master looked nowhere done with the argument and in fact fully prepared to continue uselessly bickering. However before he could act on such obvious desires, something seemed to have abruptly dawned on him. Koso had no clue as to what it was, but whatever was now on the green ninja’s mind it was apparently important enough for him to suddenly turn to Morro, who had been quietly staring at the pair up until now.

The pair shared a moment of eye contact so brief it would have made the master of speed green with envy before Lloyd hastily turned back to his food and to Koso’s mild bemusement began to sloppily shuffle the sustenance into his mouth whilst doing a very good impression of Jasper in the process (not that Koso voiced such commentary, he was positive he had belittled the boy enough for one night).

And so the rest of the meal commenced under a strange yet peaceful blanket of silence until everyone had all but licked their plate clean-Koso was feeling generous so he decided he would let Jasper do the honors- then before the raven haired man had even been able to dismiss them his young relatives had already vacated their seats, leaving him completely and utterly alone at the kitchen table with Jasper as his only remaining companion.

“I suppose you find this amusing?” Koso spitefully asked, sparing a glance at the wolf who was too engrossed in scraping every last bit of food he could from the abandoned dinner plates to care. “Oh shut up.” The sorcerer spat anyway.

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Morro didn’t know why ,but he couldn’t stop fidgeting as he stared at Lloyd. The blonde sat cross legged across from him on the floor whilst taking out several sheets of unused parchment and a charcoal pencil.

So this was actually happening, he was about to be taught how to read by his most scorned enemy.

Life was just full of f**king surprises wasn’t it.

Truthfully Morro had no idea what unusual force had prompted him to ask the energy master such an odd favor last night. All he knew at the time was that he didn’t want to have to ask Koso (he had already embarrassed himself enough in front of the man) and so naturally Lloyd was his only other viable option.

Whatever had made the green ninja actually say yes to his proposal Morro also had no clue. Maybe it was pity, maybe it was a misplaced sense of guilt or hell, maybe the blonde was simply thrilled to have something to lord over the wind master’s head (though if Morro were being honest he doubted that).

All the former ghost knew for sure was that they were in fact going ahead with this, and Morro was not looking forward to it in the slightest- he could already see the smug look that would no doubt be present upon the energy master’s features as he repeatedly talked down to him- ,but none of that mattered now. He had made the decision to ask, now he had to deal with the consequences like a man.

“Okay so, real quick do you uh, know the alphabet?”

The blank look Morro shot Lloyd’s way must have given him the answer he was looking for because he didn’t even wait for the wind master to speak before continuing.

“Alright, so that’s where we’ll begin then.” The blonde explained, laying down a piece of parchment paper down flat for Morro to see.

On the paper was a long list of characters. All of them the wind master could remember seeing at least one point and time during his lifetime in different words and phrases he could never understand.

“So, I’m supposed to memorize all of these?” The former spirit questioned looking up to Lloyd for confirmation.

The blonde quickly nodded in affirmation ,but not without supplying. “Well yeah, but there’s actually a pretty easy way to remember them all.”

“How?”

“Well It’s a song. It goes like thi-”

“A song?!” The ravenette beseeched, keeping his volume down so as not to alert Koso of their current activities.

“Uh yeah.” Lloyd dumbly replied. “We’re all taught it as children...” It could have been his own imagination ,but Morro could have sworn he saw the blonde flinch as he trailed off. As if in realization that in fact not _every_ child had the luxury of education growing up.

“I am not singing.” The wind master stubbornly stated. He’d rather memorize the characters the hard way than damage his already battered pride any further than by singing of all things.

Lloyd didn’t seem to agree with the sentiment though. “Oh c’mon, it’s not even really a song, just like a..uh..melody.”

“That’s still a song.” The wind master immediately rebutted matter of factly.

“No it’s- Look it’s gonna take you forever to remember all those letters if you try to do it without the song.”

“You’re wrong.” Morro retorted defensively. “I have a great memory.”

“Oh really?” Lloyd sarcastically asked before swiftly turning the parchment over and grabbing a fresh sheet.

“Show me what the first letter looked like.” The blonde ordered, casually dropping his charcoal pencil into the wind master’s unsteady grasp.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Morro shot the green ninja a quick glare before looking back down to the blank paper in front of him.

‘Okay, c’mon what did it look like, what did it look like.’

The wind master concentrated all of his efforts into recreating the image of the first character.

As anyone ,but Morro himself could have predicted the efforts were in vain and he honestly couldn’t remember a single detail about the character.

Still he would rather face another one of Koso’s attacks head on before admitting defeat and so, with a (only slightly) shaky grip he carefully began to bring the pencil down in contact with the parchment. However just when he was about to begin ‘writing’ , Lloyd apparently felt the need to say something.

“Wait so you’re left handed?”

‘Huh?’ Morro mentally questioned as he looked up to see that yes he had in fact switched the pencil holding hand over to his left without even thinking about it. Come to think of it while the wind master had never actually written anything up until now he had _attempted_

painting before, way back when he had still lived with Wu - the old man had told him it would help him with his nerves- and he did most often use his left hand. Old habits die hard he supposed.

“Yeah so?”

“Uh, no it’s cool. I was just surprised that’s all. I actually am too” The blonde explained, lifting up his left hand before going silent once more.

With that conversation dropped, Morro was once again left to flounder as he continued to stare at the daunting paper below him. After releasing a sigh, that he refused to admit meant defeat, the former ghost resigned himself to his fate like a criminal about to be hanged and quickly got through the task as quickly as possible.

  
  


Refusing to look up at Lloyd, he carefully slid his paper over to the green ninja without a word.

“Well that’s wrong.” At least the blonde didn’t beat about the bush. “It’s actually supposed to look like this.” Lloyd elaborated before quickly drawing the correct letter structure and showing Morro.

Side by side, their handwriting was night and day, with the wind master’s a complete sloppy mess of random lines and dots and Lloyd’s straight, focused, and clean.

‘Just like everything else.’ Morro bitterly thought as he continued to uselessly stare down at the paper.

Lloyd must have felt some semblance of sympathy because he was quick to say, “Look, everyone has to work to learn these things, okay. I’m just saying that by using the song we’ll be able to progress a lot faster.” Morro must have not looked convinced because Lloyd was quick to add, “I mean isn’t that something you’ve always been passionate about, improving as fast as possible?”

‘F**k when did I become so easy to manipulate?’ The wind master mentally sighed before slowly nodding his head in agreement.

“Yeah yeah okay, just….tell me how it f**king goes.” Morro snapped, pretending he did not see the small victory smile that graced Lloyd’s pale features.

  
  


**_ForgottenFamily_ **

‘Looks like I’ll have to make another trip to the well soon. I only have four buckets left’ Koso noted as he carefully drained a pale of fresh water into the sink before dumping in his sparse kitchenware and grabbing a nearby bar of soap.

After he had forcefully pried the plates from Jasper who was still somehow delusional enough to believe there was some hidden scrap of food he hadn’t snathced up yet, the wolf of course had no reason to stay and so Koso was left alone with nothing but the tedious task of washing dishes to distract his intellect.

‘I wonder what those brats are up to now.’ Koso thoughtfully pondered as he listened closely for the irking sound of arguing and or general rowdiness that he had come to expect over their short time spent living together. Surprisingly enough though, tonight the man was graced with nothing more than utter silence.

As the ravenette’s mind began to wander aimlessly it wasn’t long before he began thinking back to Lloyd.

Why did the boy have that look in his eyes? Koso knew it was very possible Lloyd was simply feeling homesick for the upteenth time ,but something about the way the brat acted tonight seemed different.

‘Of course this is my luck as soon as I’m done dealing with the runaway, the other one decides to give me trouble. I wonder if they planned this.’ The sorcerer mused as he was once again reminded of his little escapade two nights ago.

_“_ _For f**k's sakes give me a break. I can count at least a dozen more fancy titles such as that on my hand alone, cause you know what? That's all they are, vapid labels that mean nothing I mean, LOOK AROUND YOU!"_

Koso couldn’t help ,but shudder as he thought back to his sanctimonious speech that night.

‘To curse at a child, how uncouth of me.’ And yet, for some strange reason Koso couldn’t bring himself to regret what he said that night.

_“You can do this and you still think you need to possess some meaningless title to prove yourself!"_

What the sedge hat wearing man was shameful of though, was his young relatives’ lack of progress. Koso was never one to doubt himself, he was hardly ever allowed to with the crushing weight of responsibility bestowed upon him since before he was even born and yet now…..he hadn’t even gotten them to summon so much as a fraction of his- _their_ elemental.

‘Don’t be upset with me Tera, but I truly have no idea what it is I am doing wrong.’ The teal eyed man uselessly admitted, sensing that tonight sadly he would most likely not be granted with a premonition of his dead wife to give him answers.

‘Perhaps I’m simply not being cruel enough?’ Koso humorlessly joked as he finally finished drying the last dish before putting it on the adjacent counter with the others for tomorrow’s use.

After draining the sink, the magic wielder realized he now had nothing aside from sleep to look forward to for the night. However Koso couldn’t imagine laying himself to rest at least for now, he was simply far too awake. He considered writing another entry in his written account, but that idea did not appeal to him, what would he say that he hadn’t already?

‘I do wonder what those idiots are up to at the moment.’ Koso pondered as his gaze slowly strayed to their bedroom door down the hall. Surely they wouldn’t mind too much, if nothing else he could simply bark at them to go to sleep.

Deciding to firmly stick with that course of logic, Koso silently made his way to their room, only pausing when he approached the closed wooden door.

Ever the gentleman, the sedge hat wearing man gave them quick three knocks as warning before he gracefully swung the wooden barrier open.

Upon entering Koso was mildly surprised when he saw the two teenagers both fast asleep, with his abrupt appearance doing very little to rouse them from the realm of slumber.

Jasper seemed to be the only other one awake as evidenced by the wide unblinking bright blue eyes illuminating the darkness around him as he sat atop Morro’s sleeping form.

Despite himself, Koso couldn’t help smirking ( _not_ smiling) at the comical sight.

‘Comfortable are we?” The sedge hat wearing man softly quipped before quietly treading over to Lloyd’s side of the room.

The green ninja lay precariously on his side, facing the wall. His blonde hair was an untamable mess as it rested against the pillow. Koso might have laughed at the display were he not afraid to wake the boy up.

Feeling a little silly just standing in their bedroom like this, the teal eyed man was about to make his way out the door, however before he could, something suddenly caught his eye.

Lloyd’s letters. There they were, in a neat stack on the floor beside his bed (Koso knew they were Lloyd’s because one, the top of the first page had a large **Dear** and two, whose else would they be).

Without really thinking about it, the sedge hat wearing man had already begun to gingerly kneeled down so that he could pick up the numerous pages of parchment. He only paused in his actions when a sudden sense of guilt washed over him. Should he really be reading the boy’s words? They weren’t written for his eyes….,but then again ...he really couldn’t run the risk of the brat flat out telling his little companions everything about his location( not that Koso would have any difficulty defeating them should the need to do so arise ,but he really did not need anymore interference, he already had **plenty** to deal with at the moment) so surely it would do no one any harm if he were to simply _skim_ through the letter.

Right? Yes, yes of course……..

…

…….

……... _of course_

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

‘Well that was, interesting.’ Koso thought as he carefully laid the parchments back down into the neat untouched pile they had been but just a few moments ago.

The teal eyed man hadn’t truly known what he expected to get out of reading the content boy’s message ,but he still managed to be somewhat intrigued.

His hunch about Lloyd giving away his location had turned out to be true. Though it was surprisingly more subtle than he expected, with only minor hints giving away clues to his setting as opposed to the blatant paragraphs on top of paragraphs detailing every last inch of his surroundings that Koso had expected.

“ I guess you’re more clever than I first assumed.” Koso whispered as he stole a glance at the sleeping brat before thinking back to the other contents that had _interested_ him.

So that pompous old man he had knocked unconscious all those weeks ago, was in fact this great sensei Wu he had been hearing so much about.

From the blonde’s letter, it almost seemed as if the old fool was actually not half bad at his profession either.

‘ _and_ he’s had a hand in training both insufferable brat number 1 and 2. Maybe...no,no I couldn’t. I took him out so _easily_ , I’ve fought in wars older than him. How could I possibly benefit by asking him for advice?’

_‘Because while you may be stronger than he, you don’t know how to handle these children.’_ A voice whispered inside his mind.

‘What? That’s ridiculous. I can handle them just fine.’ Koso uselessly argued (with who he wasn’t even sure )

_‘So fine that one of them tries to run away?’_

‘Well that’s to be expected is it not? It’s not as if they agreed to be here. Besides I had nothing to do with the idiot running off like that he did because of his own stupidity.’

_‘Stupidity or not, the fact is you were unprepared. You’re in over your head Koso. It doesn’t matter what you went through in your lifetime, these boys have lived different lives from you. You need to understand them if you are to succeed.’_

Despite himself Koso couldn’t help ,but sigh. It seemed like all anyone was doing nowadays was telling him he was in the wrong. First Greta, then Elizabeth, now even his own mind was against him.

‘Well perhaps it couldn’t hurt to listen. It seems like fighting has gotten me nowhere.’ Koso mused as he slowly stood up.

Koso had never considered himself to be an especially rash decision maker ,but as of this moment right now he was going to have to change that.

‘Alright, boy. Since you’re sensei’s such a genius why don’t I go and have a chat with him.’ Koso firmly decided as he turned to leave the room so they wouldn’t hear him snap his fingers. However before he could make his way out the door, his gaze was once again drawn back to Lloyd’s letter.

Breathing a small sigh, Koso silently gathered the stack of parchment ,but not before slowly shaking his head as he stared down at his sleeping relative.

‘I must be going soft if I am going as far as to break a deal with you. Oh well you’ll just have to forgive me for that, little brat.’

With that, Koso walked out of the room and snapped his fingers ,but not before leaving a small note on the kitchen table.

_I went to run some errands. Lloyd don’t fret about your letter. I am delivering it as we speak. I’ll most likely be back around evening. I casted another barrier around the cottage so you will both be stuck inside today. Do as you wish ,but if I find so much as a speck of dust out of place when I get back... well I’ll let your imagination do the work. Oh and one more thing, there’s another rabbit kill I caught two days ago in the cabinet above the stove you two can cook that for dinner._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Lloyd wasn’t sure what time it was when he woke up all he knew was that it was still dark outside.

‘Oh great I love it when this happens.’ The blonde mentally rolled his eyes, as a yawn was torn from him.

Not feeling optimistic to the possibility that he could fall back asleep, Lloyd decided to distract himself by looking over to Morro and Jasper hoping that maybe the dog had done something funny again.

His hopes were quickly dashed over, when oddly enough it appeared that Morro was the only one occupying his bed at the moment.

‘Wait, what? Where’s Jasper?’ The wolf had been with him when they went to bed earlier, why had he left. Ever since the canine meant them, he had basically worshipped the ground Morro walked on.

Feeling curious Lloyd decided what better to do than to investigate and if Koso got mad at him than whatever, it wasn’t like he wasn’t already used to it.

With his mind firmly set, the blonde slowly edged his way out his bed and carefully tiptoed his way to the door. Looking back at Morro, Lloyd had never been so thankful to have succeeded in not waking someone up.

‘Hmph that’s weird I could have sworn the door was closed earlier.’ The blonde mused before shrugging it off and quietly stepping out of the room.

‘Okay Jasper where are yo-’

Lloyd could have broke the sound barrier were he to release the shrill scream clawing its way up his throat as he stared in stunned silence at Jasper who was literally curled up against the wall where the short hallway ended.

“You..you really scared me there.” Lloyd confessed to the wolf who had seemingly just now noticed his presence.

What the canine did next astounded (and scared) the blonde even more.

He barked.

Very...very loudly!

Immediately panicked, Lloyd crouched down frantically trying to get the animal to stop.

“Shh! No Jasper, no!”

The wolf paid his commands no heed though and instead almost seemed to be trying to communicate something to him.

“Shhh! What, what is it boy-Jasper!” Lloyd gasped as the wolf grabbed a hold of his sleeve and forcefully pulled him towards the wall.

“What? I don’t understand Boy.” The blonde admitted ,but the canine remained undeterred in his efforts to push Lloyd up against the wall.

“Would you stop. Jasper please, this is…”

Lloyd trailed off as he suddenly felt something poking into his back. Very confused at this point, the blonde slowly turned around.

Lloyd must have been going crazy. He must have that would be the only way to explain what he was currently experiencing.

How else...HOW ELSE could you explain a big bright red door suddenly appearing in the wall! That was just….insane!!!

Jasper however didn’t seem too fazed and in fact, almost ….ecstatic.

“Wait...was this...is this what you wanted?” The blonde slowly asked, ignoring the very odd fact that Koso hadn’t woken up yet.

If the canine could understand him, Lloyd was sure he would be shaking his head yes.

“Wow so..I don’t know. Is this like Koso’s doing?” The blonde pointlessly asked.

Jasper seemed too thrilled to care about the energy master’s confusion though, as evidenced by the way he happily jumped up and down against the door practically trying to break it open with his body weight alone. When that tactic inevitably didn’t work however, the wolf was quick to turn his big blue puppy dog eyes to Lloyd whilst whining desperately.

‘He wants me to open it…’ The blonde dumbly concluded

“I don’t know, what if Koso wakes up?” Lloyd reasoned aloud despite the fact he knew Jasper couldn’t answer him.

‘But wait this could be a good thing!’ The green ninja realized. ‘Yeah if Koso went through the lengths to hide it, maybe there’s something in there that can help defeat him!’

“Okay ,but we’ll have to be quiet.” Lloyd told the dog before gingerly resting his hand on the knob. It was stone cold and dusty like it hadn’t been kept in ages. Looking back down at the excited Jasper, the blonde briefly wondered if this was a mistake.

‘Well too late to turn back now anyway.’ The green ninja hastily decided before taking in a deep breath and slowly turning the knob.

‘Okay, here goes nothing!’

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean let’s be honest hasn’t your dog gotten you into trouble before? Lol I know mine has thank you all for reading. I appreciate all your guys’ feedback and support! Till next time!


	28. Chapter 27

'So this is what's become of Ninjago City.' Koso internally monologued as his gaze wandered about from the many godlike towers burning their silhouettes into the skyline with their perpetually divine radiance, to the humble pavement he currently found himself strolling down.

Despite having already seen the city, the sorcerer still found it difficult to believe this was the same meek mining village it had once been.

'I suppose you were somewhat right brother..' Koso thought, as he wistfully recalled the many _many_ tirades regarding Ninjago's glorious future his sibling could not stop spouting to save his life. Despite himself, the stone hearted ravenette couldn't help almost feeling a sense of fondness at the memory, before it was quickly brushed aside.

There was no point wasting time reliving the past, he had a flying ship to find.

_**ForgottenFamily** _

'Okay here goes nothing.'

Of all the possibilities Lloyd prepared himself for as he opened the door, he couldn't help feeling a little dumb for _not_ expecting to be met with total darkness.

'Urgh duh Lloyd.' The blonde internally scolded himself. How could he be this dense? 'Oh well no use moping about it now.' The green ninja supposed, as he watched Jasper disappear into the pitch black recesses of the unlighted room.

Not wanting to go back for a candle and risk waking Morro (and remembering that he wasn't adorning any vengestone at the moment ) Lloyd decided to light a _very_ small energy sphere in his right palm. The green light instantly illuminated his surroundings, finally revealing the room to scrutiny.

The sight Lloyd was now met with was….surprising, to say the least and not in some grandiose way either. The room as it turned out was just a humble bedroom with nothing ,but a neatly made bed sitting in the corner to act as decoration, even the walls were completely bare save for one faded dent in the wall that could have been caused by anything.

'Why did Jasper want to come in here so bad?' Lloyd wondered, arching an eyebrow as he watched the wolf act surprisingly reserved as he wandered about the room, doing little more than sniffing a crooked floorboard here and there. After a few minutes of fruitless inspection, the blonde almost considered going back to sleep, when suddenly Jasper seemed very interested in something under the bed.

Feeling more than a little curious, Lloyd impulsively tiptoed over to kneel at the canine's side.

Unperturbed by the green ninja's presence, Jasper continued his ministrations until finally he seemed to grab ahold of something. Leaning in close, the blonde almost gasped as he watched the wolf drag the mystery item out from under the bed.

Clenched between the canine's sharp jaws were two large, flat books neatly stacked atop one another with a strange sense of procession and care. Lloyd almost couldn't help being slightly impressed by the minor attention to detail.

Apparently sensing the energy master's interest, Jasper quickly let go of the items before backing up, allowing Lloyd the space needed to just open one of the large books.

Not knowing which one to look at first -neither had any words on their worn covers- Lloyd settled for the one on top. The edges were torn, and the large black cover was beyond faded with so much dust accumulated on its surface the blonde actually had to blow on it before quickly regretting doing so when his sinuses instantly started to flare up in pain causing him to cough so hard he almost believed he might accidentally hack up a lung.

After recovering only a mere century later Lloyd refocused on the book, gently sliding a hand underneath the cover before quietly opening it.

It didn't surprise the blonde to find that the pages inside just as decrepit as the cover, however what did take him by surprise was the bold black lettering on the front page tha read;

_**Property of Koso.** _

_**WARNING : Do NOT open unless a trained sorcerer. These spells are on the advanced level and not meant for beginners.** _

'Wait..this...this is a spell book?! Koso's spell book?!'

Despite his best efforts, Lloyd couldn't resist smirking. Maybe this wasn't exactly what he was hoping to find ,but it was still something-something that could potentially be useful in the future.

The energy master was about to turn to the next page ,but before he could even grasp the page he suddenly felt Jasper nudging his arm. Turning to look at the canine, the blonde watched as Jasper pawed at the other book with an almost desperate whine escaping him.

In spite of feeling more than a little confused Lloyd decided to comply with the wolf's silent request- if for no other reason then to simply get him to calm down and be quiet- and reach for the other book. Who knows maybe there was something even more useful in this one!

After taking a moment to switch out his hands -his right was getting tired of holding the energy sphere- the blonde carefully repeated his earlier process of gently flipping the cover open. Unlike Koso's spell book, this book had a much brighter blue cover, with not nearly as much dust, even it's edges were less frayed.

Upon opening it, Lloyd saw that the contents were vastly different as well, so much so he had to fight the urge gasp in sheer astonishment.

On the very first page, was a wide scale portrait of a woman Lloyd had never seen before. The painting itself was incredibly detailed, with every aspect of the female's appearance on full display. Her short hair appeared to be a dark chestnut brown and her eyes a bright hazel green. The rest of her body was shielded under the cover of a red kimono with a orange and yellow flower pattern adorning it.

'Wait, could this be Koso's wife ..uh..Te..Tera?' The blonde wondered as he slowly looked over to the adjacent page. On it was another portrait ,but this one was of three people. The first and tallest person was clearly a younger version of Koso, as evidenced by his rounder and more youthful features. The sorcerer wore a red and black battle garb with his hair pulled back into a ponytail so tight not a single hair looked out of place, beside him stood the same woman from the other portrait, her appearance was mostly the same only in this painting she was wearing a plain light blue kimono with bright pink lotuses decorating her hair like a crown and finally in between them stood what appeared to be a young girl wearing a purple kimono with a white flower pattern spanning out over just about every inch of the garment. Her long raven hair was pulled into a neat bun atop her small head with it's own pink lotus pinned in to match Tera's. The only part of her hair allowed free were her two bright green side bangs…..Wait!

'That...that hair! She...no that's...is she?...Could she be?'

_Morro's mother?…._

Lloyd could hardly think as he continued to stare at the picture. They all looked so _happy_ despite they're blank expressions. The blonde almost couldn't help recalling a vague memory from the past in which he had asked his father why it seemed every old painting never had anyone smiling in them. He could still remember the amused smile his dad had awarded his query with, as he explained that back then paintings could take up to hours to complete so holding a smile for that long was nigh on impossible.

The blonde soon became so lost in his thoughts he almost didn't realize, Jasper was once again trying to get his attention.

"What the f**k is going on?!"

Stricken with panic, Lloyd hastily slammed both books shut once more before looking over his shoulder to see Morro quizzically staring at him from the doorway.

"What the- How did….When did this get here?!" The wind master tiredly demanded as he sluggishly stepped into the room.

Unable to do more than act on impulse, the blonde whirled trying to produce a suitable explanation "Well uh...see...I..Jasper he...he uh kinda showed me this door that just happened to appear in the wall and so I thought I'd check it out ,but eh there's wasn't actually anything important in here. All I found were these old books about uh...farming." Lloyd lied (not even fully sure why he was), gesturing to his findings on the floor, hoping to Departed Realm that his obvious nervousness wasn't giving him away.

"Uh huh...okay, so whatever it is you really found, just...don't get me involved okay." Morro responded now sounding strangely casual about finding a secret room and then subsequently being lied to. "Also, I just figured I'd let you know, Koso left. Said we're locked in the house today."

"What?!"

"Did you not see the note on the door?" The wind master asked, as he raised his arm to show off a small piece of parchment paper. Upon rising to his feet (after gathering the two large books into his arms) and stumbling towards the former ghost, Lloyd saw that yes, Koso had in fact left them alone in the middle of the night.

Sighing at his own obliviousness, Lloyd couldn't help ,but mentally berate himself as he started to stare back down at his feet.

'Way to go, _green ninja_.'

_**ForgottenFamily** _

"How are you feeling now?" Misako's voice could have lulled a frightened child to slumber with how it sounded so soft to Wu's aged ears.

"Better." Came the old man's curt reply. "I may not be a young man, but you needn't worry. I'll be back to my spry usual self within a few days."

"Well that's certainly good to hear." Misako happily sighed as her eyes wandered over to the window. Wu recognized that distant look instantly; the look of a parent grieving their missing child. The sensei loathed to imagine what the poor mother was going through. Someone might imagine that she should simply get used to having her loved ones pulled away from her, with how often it seems to happen, but Wu knew from experience that that was in the most simple of terms; impossible. To get used to losing the ones you care about would be the equivalent of getting used to being torn limb from limb.

"You look tired." The old man quietly commented, hoping his directness did not border too far into the territory of rudeness. "Perhaps you should get some rest. I appreciate all you fretting over me, but I can handle myself. You deserve a break, Misako."

If he were being honest (and very rare was he not), Wu expected some kind of resistance from the old woman ,however his expectations were defied, when Misako simply nodded in agreement ,before muttering a quick goodbye and exiting the room, with the door close behind her. She must have been even more exhausted than he originally thought.

After Misako's hasty egress, the old man was left alone once more with nothing ,but his thoughts to entertain him.

'Perhaps I should be resting as well.' Wu reasoned as he went to turn off his bedside lamp. However before his wrinkled hand could tug the cord down, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Sorry ,to have to disturb you like this ,but I wouldn't count on going to sleep just yet."

_**ForgottenFamily** _

Koso could have laughed at how ridiculous his grand entrance was, just appearing out of the shadows like a villain from one of the old story books he once read to Elizabeth before bed; how cliche.

His nephew's shock was obvious despite the old man's vain efforts to keep up a stoic facade. "Hello, to whom do I owe the honor?"

Quirking an eyebrow in mock confusion, Koso couldn't resist crossing his arms as he leaned against the nearest wall."Straight to the niceties I see, aren't you going to yell for help?"

"I'm afraid I don't see the point." Wu answered, his inflection nothing ,but a frank sense of honesty. "Someone as smart yourself wouldn't risk coming here without a guaranteed chance of going undetected. Am I mistaken?"

'Hmph, Lucky guess.' The sorcerer quickly assumed, refusing to utter a phrase trite as 'He's good.'

"So, now I believe the question is for what reason have you come here?" Wu inquired as he reached out to his bedside table, where his bright blue teapot innocently sat waiting for it's next use.

Despite himself, the ravenette couldn't help mentally rolling his eyes as he impatiently waited for the old man to hurry up and finish pouring his tea . 'Now I know he is _definitely_ your son, brother.'

"Oh my apologies, did you want a cup?" Wu effortlessly asked, apparently sensing Koso's agitation.

Unable to combat the incredibly tempting urge to snarl in disgust, the teal eyed man almost instantly replied with a resounding. "No."

The reason as to why the rest of his family seemed to possess such an obsessive addiction to tea would forever be lost to Koso. He personally found the stuff incredibly revolting, having even once told his brother he would rather drink straight from the river of eternal sadness before digesting that stomach churning substance ever again.

Ignoring the rejected offer, Wu was quick to rebound back to his earlier query. "Sorry to have to repeat myself ,but I believe I asked you why you came here?"

Powerless to his own snide sense of humor (that he did in fact possess despite what common belief may wager) Koso couldn't resist pulling out the wanted poster he stumbled across earlier while roaming the streets. "Well other than to let you know you've completely butchered my likeness," The teal eyed man sarcastically mocked, as he gestured to the drawing currently depicting him as a massive towering shadow with bright green eyes comically large enough to make any masterfully crafted caricature red faced with shame. "I'm actually here to ask you for your….well let's call it advice."

The way Wu's eyes subtly widened as he contemplated Koso's request, almost could have gone undetected had the sedge hat wearing man not been so perceptive. "Advice?"

"Yes, I believe that's what I just said." Koso shrewdly retorted. "If you're confused, let me explain, see I happen to be suffering from the minute plight of having to teach a very troublesome duo of brats how to summon a certain element." The sorcerer made sure to maintain eye contact so as not to further confuse the old man. "And well, as shocking as it may sound I'm having some slight difficulties in this endeavor so, I was hoping that maybe there might exist some useful information in that feeble old brain of yours that could be of aid?"

Despite Wu's eyebrow creasing in skepticism, Koso could sense the aging man's understanding even before he spoke. "You're hoping I can tell you how to train my nephew? Is this why you kidnapped him..if so then….why? Lloyd is already fully capable of wielding his element."

Helpless to the alluring temptation, Koso couldn't stop himself from sighing once more. "You know for a wise old master you can be quite slow." The teal eyed man snidely remarked, ignoring his juxtaposition. "Since you haven't figured it out yet I'll spell it out for you, your nephew is in the possession of another element and it is my responsibility to teach it to him."

"If you'll pardon me asking, why _is_ it your responsibility?"

"Let's just say I have the experience."

"So then….it was your element?" Wu inquired startlingly fast, almost making the ravenette feel as if he was suffering from whiplash.

"Well, to put it in lammense terms, yes." The teal eyed man bluntly replied.

"Who are you then? I have not heard of another elemental wielder related to our family line aside from my father."

As Koso stared down the inquisitive gaze of his nephew he hoped to the departed realm, that the old geezer wasn't able to see the way his features tightened at the mention of his brother.

"Well, _your_ father was very talented at keeping secrets ,but of course I'm sure you're already well aware of that." The teal eyed man explained with a less than subtle undertone of bitterness as he was once again reminded of the night Morro tried to run away.

Wu didn't exactly seem satisfied with the answer ,but he seemed to realize that's all he was going to get out of Koso on the matter.

"Very well, may I ask one more question though, before I give you the advice you crave?"

"Certainly. I may not look it ,but I'm a very patient man." Koso casually replied, unable to tell if the old man believed him or not.

"What have you done with my nephew?"

"He is perfectly fine, completely unharmed I assure you." The teal eyed man answered without a moment's hesitation.

"How am I to believe you?" Wu instantly shot back, his inflection causing Koso to once again sigh in annoyance.

After pondering a suitable answer for all of one second, Koso quickly supplied, "I suppose I could give you my word. Once again I may not look it, but I'm also a very honest man as well- well at least more honest than my b- _your_ father." The ravenette quickly finished, cursing himself for his Freudian slip.

Much to his gratitude though, the old man didn't seem to notice. "So then that is all you're willing to give, your word?"

'Well that and a very long letter.' Koso wanted to say ,but decided to instead hold his tongue and simply nod in reply. If he showed the old man the letter now, they would once again get off track.

Wu breathed a long low sigh in response, as if resigning himself to a hanging. "Very well then, however I should warn you, when my ninja and I find Lloyd, if there is as so much as a hair out of place on his head-"

"Yes,yes, you'll d**n me to the seven circles of the underworld or something like that right? As I said before you needn't worry, the little brat is in perfect health as of the moment."

Once again the old man took a moment to sigh in reply, before speaking again. "So….what exact advice were you interested in hearing about?"

"Well first off, I want to know how you get them to not want to kill you."


	29. This is Art! NOT A CHAPTER!!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a picture of Tera (Koso's Wife in case you forgot) and it is NOT mine.
> 
> This illustration was done by etchy-a-sketchy! Seriously etchy-a-sketchy is an amazing artist, really awesome at drawing OCs. IF you want to check out some great art, here's the link to etchy-a-sketchy's blog! https://etchy-a-sketchy.tumblr.com/


	30. Chapter 28

As the last remains of night gradually faded and gave way to a bright sun rise that filled every nook and cranny of the cottage with its golden light, Lloyd found himself unable to think of anything besides his findings in the hidden bedroom. His hands moved independently from himself and he barely realized he had begun cracking several eggs (saved from the female chickens they kept alive in the backyard) onto a stark black skillet as the stove’s flame below burned with ferocious intensity.

The energy master had never considered himself a masterful cook, but any idiot could make half decent scrambled eggs (even if they were unfortunately not able to add milk on account of there being not being a cow within a hundred miles of the valley)

From his spot at the table, Morro’s grey-green eyes were  lackadaisically narrowed with exasperation. 

“So, how did you find that room?” 

“Jasper.” Lloyd quickly answered, not seeing any point to lying( at least about that detail). “I just woke up in the middle of the night and he just led me straight to it.”

“Huh. So, you scared about Koso finding out?” The wind master bluntly asked. 

“Umm well I was kinda just hoping it would go back to being invisible before he returns. I mean there’s nothing else I can really do about it.” The blonde admitted as he lifted the scorching hot skillet off of the stove, scraped the eggs onto two wooden plates, and bent down to put the stove’s flame out. 

“I’ve got it.” Morro suddenly spoke before reaching out a palm and channeling a narrow gust of wind towards the opened oven door. The fire was out in seconds.

“Thanks.” The green ninja politely replied -both for the kind gesture and for the fact the former ghost had kept his promise about not asking about the books- , as he closed the door and moved to the table, thankful that he had already set the wooden utensils out. 

Despite the less than average setting, Lloyd couldn’t help feel a sense of normality as he slid Morro his plate. Unsure if he should waste the energy fretting over this feeling, the blonde chose the former and began attempting to take his mind off it with more pedantic conversation. 

“So, today I think the goal should be to get you to write your name.” 

“You think so?” Morro questioned around a mouthful of egg, Jasper couldn’t have looked more heart broken at not being offered any.

“Yeah, I mean once you’ve practiced copying the alphabet a couple of times, it really shouldn’t be that much of a challenge your name’s not long or complicated or anything.”

“Oh…” The former ghost looked unsure if he should take offense or not. “Umm, alright.”

“Cool, we’ll start after breakfast.” Lloyd promptly decided, as he shoved a forkful of egg into his mouth so as to avoid the increasingly awkward atmosphere. 

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“Ok so, what I want you to do is copy each letter. The big ones are what the letter is supposed to look like capitalized and the small ones are uncapitalized, got it?”

Upon Morro’s nod of understanding, the blonde began to slowly back away from the kitchen table in which he had laid out the wind master’s writing supplies towards their room.

“Okay, if you have trouble let me know.”

“What are you doing?” The former ghost pointedly asked, dodging an affection lick from Jasper.

“Umm I just wanted to rest some more you know since Jasper and the door and all.” Lloyd lied before turning on his heel and hastily dashing away so as to avoid the former ghost’s further scrutiny. 

Upon reaching their door Lloyd couldn’t help but release a relieved sigh when he saw the mystery bedroom door had in fact reverted back to being invisible, completely indistinguishable from the cottage walls.

Once inside their bedroom with the door shut behind him, Lloyd wasted no time diving towards his bed and reaching under the frame to pull out Koso’s spell book.

The blonde wasn’t sure what he expected to see upon flipping past the first warning page however that did little to dim his slight surprise at seeing no actual verbal instructions written ,but instead a long list of strange black symbols each accompanied by what was most likely supposed to be a visual depiction of what external consequence each spell was meant to bring.

Skimming over the top few, Lloyd could easily guess each spell’s purpose thanks to the simplistic art style of the illustrations. Whoever’s steady hand had drawn them was definitely someone to be commemorated for his/her work. The first page held nothing that the green ninja could deem worthy of being considered as important with most of them having to deal with healing various wounds and injuries. 

‘Why Koso didn’t use any of these when Morro was injured?’ Lloyd wondered as he slowly flipped through the pages,carefully scanning the image beside each symbol until suddenly he finally found one that piqued his interest.

The bottom half of the stark black symbol was a narrow oval with the top curling around to form a sharp hook. The illustration beside it depicted a faceless man standing beside an arrow that pointed directly to what appeared to be a dog.

‘Wait so, is this...how to turn someone into an animal?’ Lloyd’s eyes widened in perplexity as he contemplated the potential uses of the spell.

“Lloyd!” The green ninja jumped upon hearing Morro’s voice echo against the cottage’s thin walls.

“Hang on! I’ll be right there.” The blonde yelled back, before sliding the spell book back under the bed frame.

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“Ma!”

“What?!” The tea shop owner shouted back cursing her old bones, as she slowly slid off her son’s guest bed. Hank had come barging in like the house was about to burn down. \

“Look!” Her son yelled, all ,but shoving the tiny crank T.V. he still insisted on using instead of buying an electrical one. 

“Alright,alright calm down.” The elderly woman sighed as she reached out for her reading glasses before carefully sliding them on. “What’s all this ruckus abou….” Greta trailed off as she stared at the static image in front of her.

On the T.V. Gale Gossip stood- obviously dreading the early morning heat as beads of sweat rolled off of her like waterfalls, effectively ruining her makeup- in front of the ruins of her destroyed shop.

Only it wasn’t destroyed. It was standing tall as it always had, not a single brick out of place.

“Turn up the volume.” Greta commanded as she adjusted her hearing aid. 

As her son obeyed, the sound of Gale’s high pitched voice slowly began filling the room. 

“You heard it here first, the man suspected of kidnapping the green ninja was reported to be seen here by this humble tea shop yet again. Numerous eye witnesses say they allegedly saw the man put this entire previously demolished shop back to its prior state with nothing but the snap of his fingers.”

“He didn’t…” Greta thought aloud. Did..did Koso feel guilty for what he had done? 

“That’s not all though!” Gale hastily shouted as if she could see her viewers through the camera. “Another sighting was reported later on, by the Garmadon Monument. We have actually managed to secure an interview with the witness. Since they wish to remain anonymous we will conduct it over the phone.” The reporter explained as an assistant of hers appeared at her side, with said phone in the palm of her hand, the call screen completely blurred out.

“Yeah it’s true.” Came the sound of an obviously auto tuned voice over the smartphone’s speaker. 

‘Probably prerecorded.’ Greta guessed, as she felt the edges of her grey hair start to stray upwards because of the T.V. static. 

“I didn’t realize who he might be at the time, just thought his eyes looked freaky. I was just taking my kid to see the monument and saw him standing there. I asked him to hold my camera so we could take a picture, he seemed really confused even after I told him to just press the red button.”

Despite her best efforts Greta couldn’t help chuckling at the irony of a man younger than her having more trouble operating modern technology.

“After a few minutes he eventually got the gist of it and he snapped a couple pictures for us. When I went to thank him, I thought..well you know I thought maybe it would be polite to make friendly conversation so I just you know I asked him how his day was and all that and then I asked him where he was heading and he just said he was heading to Ninjago City.”

‘Why would he- _ unless _ ...oh... _ oh _ Koso.’ 

“Then before I even know what’s going on, I turn my back for a second and he’s just gone. I guess…..I guess he really needed to get to Ninjago City.”

  
  


**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Lloyd couldn’t help ,but feel impressed to see Morro had already copied the alphabet three times over, with most of the characters looking pretty legible( if a little….. _ wobbly _ )

“Wow, alright so-”

“Show me how to write my name!” The wind master snappishly ordered, his impatience almost coming off as anxious. 

Stifling a sarcastic retort, Lloyd slowly pulled up a chair beside his fellow captive and sat down before taking up an extra pencil and blank piece of parchment paper.

“Ok, look close.” The green ninja gently commanded. “This is an M” Lloyd pointed to the letter on one of the handwritten copies, then with practiced ease casually made the necessary strokes to form the letter on his own paper. “That’s the letter your name starts with.” The energy master explained before repeating the same process with the rest of the letters that formed Morro’s name (or what he assumed the former ghost’s name to be spelled like since no reference was available). 

When it was completed Lloyd slid the finished product closer to Morro. 

The wind master silently stared at it for a few moments, his gaze completely blank as it seemed utterly consumed by those five simple characters. When the lack of noise eventually began to feel somewhat suffocating, Lloyd hastily cleared his throat, effectively tearing the former ghost out of whatever reverie he had lost himself in.

“Okay, so now try writing it yourself.” The blonde causally ordered, the words barely out of his mouth before the wind master was already all but attacking the frail parchment paper with his pencil.

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

The rest of the morning seemed to pass by in a blur of ashy pencil strokes and rubbed raw red fingertips whilst stacks upon stacks of used paper steadily began piling up at the edge at the kitchen table. Morro barely moved from his hunched over position over his work as Lloyd casually explaining the concept of vowels to the former ghost.

Throughout the entire ‘lesson’ in the back of Lloyd’s mind, his thoughts couldn’t help ,but be pulled back to Koso’s spell book. It felt like an eternity since he had grasped the dusty black cover in his hands. The desire to just look at it again was a strange one, and try as he might the blonde could not rid himself of it.

When they eventually took a break for lunch ( which was conceived of more eggs, they really needed to start a vegetable garden or something) Lloyd realized his back was beginning to ache after leaning against his chair’s stiff frame for so long. 

When he got up to stretch, the blonde barely registered the fact that he had a significant amount of egg residue attached to his fingers to which Jasper of course couldn’t help ,but try to desperately nip at.

“I think now’s a good time for a break. Maybe about 10 minutes, yeah 10 minutes then we’ll continue. ” Lloyd announced, refraining from waiting for a reply as he abruptly dashed back down the hallway towards their bedroom yet again.

The energy master had never before found a bed so alluring ( okay well that was technically a lie ,but every time he did he felt like it was his first time).

In the span of a microsecond he was sprawled out onto it’s cushioned surface, his fingertips hanging over the edge like a corpse.

After a few moments of simply laying there and lazily listening to the sound of Morro getting up and cleaning the dishes (the blonde was very grateful to have one that round of rock paper scissors), the thought of looking through Koso’s spell book some more began to taunt him again and just like that, before the blonde could even fully register what he was doing he had already pulled the book back into his right hand and opened it.

‘Okay, think Lloyd. How can I use this to escape?’ The question immediately spurred a million possibilities within the green ninja as he picked up where he had left off and began flipping through page after page, making sure to bookmark the few and far between spell symbols he believed could be potentially useful by folding the page’s corner down.

In this midst of this process however, a small problem arose. Lloyd realized he knew nothing about how to perform magic.

“What I am thinking?” The green ninja softly inquired aloud, hoping no one was within earshot to actually provide him an answer. “It’s not like I can actually use any of these…..right?”

Then again, the way Lloyd remembered Koso explaining the details of his magic sounded simple enough.

‘Just have to picture this symbol in my head right?’ Lloyd thought as he unwittingly went back to the page with the animal spell he had found interesting earlier. ‘Surely that can’t be too har-’

  
  


The green ninja’s thoughts were abruptly brought to a halt, when the prattling sound of sharp claws clashing against hardwood floors filled his ears as the sight of Jasper’s pitch black fur came into his field of vision. 

When Morro’s silhouette did not immediately follow the wolf's, Lloyd couldn’t help ,but arch a confused eyebrow.

“What’s up Jasper?” The blonde asked, jokingly wondering if the animal was about to lead him to another mystery door. 

Jasper obviously being unable to answer did not reply and came up to the green ninja’s beside before suddenly hopping up onto the bed and assaulting the unsuspecting fingertips of Lloyd’s left hand with his tongue. The energy master’s efforts to stifle a giggle instantly failed, and he had no choice ,but to release a quiet breathy chuckle.

“Stop, that tickles.” Lloyd squealed, feigning protest whilst his gaze casually strayed back towards the book.

Once again eyeing the animal spell, Lloyd couldn’t help ,but jokingly imagine the possibility of using the spell against Koso. 

‘Maybe I could turn him into a rabbit.’ The blonde briefly considered, his eyes momentarily flickering back to Jasper.

“Or, I could turn him into a wolf like you.” The energy master chuckled, raising his left hand away from Jasper’s mouth to pet the wolf’s large pointed ears. “Wouldn’t that be great, what do you say boy? Want a friend?” 

Without really realizing it (a disturbing pattern for almost all of the blonde’s actions thus far today) Lloyd had begun to picture the symbol for the spell in his mind as he continued to lazily stroke Jasper’s fur. Lloyd wasn’t sure why ,but that bizarre possibility in particular was so amusing to him he couldn’t resist facetiously snapping his fingers, his gaze never once leaving Jasper.

Predictably enough when no proof of his success was to be seen anywhere, the blonde simply shrugged before sitting up and stretching.

“Well thanks for coming and getting me, Jasper. Almost forgot about Morro.” 

Even it was to get lick up the remaining bits of egg residue from his hand.

  
  


“You’re Welcome.”

Lloyd froze. That….that definitely was his imagination right? He hadn’t actually just heard an unfamiliar voice speak to him right then...right?

Emitting a quiet gulp, the blonde carefully got to his feet and slowly  **very** slowly turned around towards the direction he had sworn the voice had come from.

‘..........WHAT!!!!!!’

There on his bed in the exact spot Jasper had previously occupied now hosted the bare body of a tall,  **ungodly tall** man with short charcoal black hair that was shaved on each side to give him just enough raven strands to be pulled back into a short ponytail. 

For a split second, Lloyd considered the possibility that this was a hallucination and would disappear the moment he blinked. However that theory was quickly tarnished along with his hope of surviving this ordeal with even a modicum of sanity left when the lanky man turned to the blonde and opened his eyes.

They were stark blue...just like…...like...Jasper’s………

“AHHHHHHH!” Lloyd screamed as he threw his head into his hands and fought the urge to start sobbing out of sheer shock and confusion.

“Woah, are you oka-Hey wait a minute how am I talking?” The man/Jasper/whoever the f**k this suddenly asked as he stood up still on the bed. Lloyd had to quickly avert his gaze when he realized the man had no clothes on. The male’s voice sounded gruff and timber much like that of a seasoned warrior and yet the innocent confusion in his inflection almost made him sound like a child. “And in your language, how did I learn how to speak like this? Lloyd? That’s your name isn’t it? Lloyd?”

Unable to handle the barrage of questions, the green ninja could think of nothing better to do than throw his head into his hands and scream his panic into them.

He would have kept his head nestled there for eternity were it not for the sound of steadily approaching footsteps suddenly entering his ears. 

“What it is it now!? I swear Lloyd if this is…….” Whatever threat Morro had intended to make must have died on his tongue the second he saw Jasper.

After a brief stint of debating ever leaving the comforting darkness of his cupped hands, Lloyd bravely lifted his head just in time to see, Morro’s surprised expression before it quickly contorted into an angered snarl.

Lloyd vaguely recognized the sound of wind whistling against his ears, before Jasper was abruptly lifted off of his feet and suspended into the air like a pinata. With a flick of Morro’s wrist the former wolf was sent careening into the opposite wall with a loud  **_thud_ ** so loud and painful sounding the blonde immediately felt the desire to wince out of sheer habit.

Fortunately the impact left no trace of damage to the wall, the same could not be said for Jasper however as evidenced by the faint trickle of blood beginning to stream down his forehead as he slowly slid down the wall onto Morro’s bed. The cover of Lloyd’s bed was thrown with the wolf, so when he was slammed into the wall the blankets fell right on top of him.

“Who the F**K are you and how did you get in here?!” Morro shouted, raising a self contained sphere of rapidly rotating air as a silent threat.

The words “WAIT STOP!!” came tumbling out of Lloyd’s mouth with the force of a cannon as he hastily threw himself between Morro and his victim. 

The now confused wind master looked ready to demand an explanation ,but before the query could leave his tongue, Jasper had already torn a hole through Lloyd’s blanket, causing the fabric to fit around him like a loose skirt as he shot to his feet. The ferocious look in his bright blue eyes was unlike anything Lloyd had seen from the wolf up until now.

In the span of a few seconds, the former wolf had abruptly lunged right for Morro. In self defence the former ghost aimed his ball of air right at Jasper and promptly released it. However before the sphere could come into contact with its target, Jasper suddenly twisted his body in a feat of acrobatics so improbable the best circus performer in all of Ninjago would be shamed into quitting their profession entirely, and just narrowly avoid the blast. 

Before shock could even register with Morro, he was suddenly thrown to the ground by the weight of Jasper’s body colliding with his own. As they both landed on the floor, with Jasper on top, the former wolf fisted Morro’s grey shirt into a vice grip whilst he snarled down at the pinned wind master like...well like an animal.

“That’s it! I’m done! I’ve tried, my very, very, **very** , best to be kind to you! Hell I even let you push me around some, but you know what THIS is the last straw!” Jasper furiously declared, the underlying grit in his voice increasing with each word. “I don’t even care WHAT Master Elizabeth told me!”

Lloyd’s eyes couldn’t help ,but immediately widened with newfound confusion.

‘What the-Whose Elizabeth!’

Morro, who had yet to utter a reply, simply stared at the former canine with a blank look upon his features, amazingly contrast to his earlier menacing guise. 

A minute or two passed and Jasper had yet to relinquish his hold on Morro or let up on his nonsensical ranting.

“ALL THESE YEARS WAITING HERE FOR HER TO COME BACK AND WHAT DO I GET?! A F**KING UNGRATEFUL,RUDE,LITTLE-”

“Lloyd.” Morro suddenly spoke up, his voice as unreadable as his expression.  “What did you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So real quick I feel like I should clarify, I with my stinky poopoo brain didn’t realize the tea lady actually had a canon name, Mistake! I’m so sorry I honestly didn’t realize it until freaking Fallingtoast told me XD. Thank you Fallingtoast! Anyway yeah Greta is supposed to be her, so if y'all wouldn’t mind just going with it, I’d be so grateful. 
> 
> Anyway thank you so much for reading! See you next chapter.


	31. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper be salty.
> 
> ALSO PLEASE READ BOTH NOTES FOR THIS CHAPTER THANK YOU!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeeeeeeeyyyy GUYS! Thank you so much for reading, real quick before you read the chapter, please take just a second to read the following:
> 
> So, IDK if y’all have noticed ,but like literally almost all of the art for my various fics were created by a talented artist on tumblr who goes by the name Etchy-a-Sketchy. Well it just so happens that I recently discovered Etchy-a-Sketchy is now officially doing art commissions ( for those of you who aren’t aware commissions are basically art that you pay ) from a post on tumblr the link of which is below along with the link to Etchy-a-Sketchy’s art blog
> 
> Guys seriously Etchy-a-Sketchy’s art is WELL worth the price! I know first hand that Bread can really bring an OC to life, it’s honestly just really cool to see your character drawn in such a wonderful art style. So if any of y’all are interested as I stated previously the link is down below!
> 
> FIRST!!!! ANOTHER DISCLAIMER THOUGH!
> 
> I just feel like I should clarify this, If you are not of the age where you cannot buy something online without your parent’s permission then please be responsible and do not do something foolish like trying to go behind their backs that will literally. help. absolutely. NO ONE!
> 
> Okay phew! Now that that’s out of the way here’s the links. The one at the top is the tumblr post about the commissions and the one at the bottom is the link to Etchy-a-Sketchy’s art blog. If you have questions read the post first and if there’s anything else you’re confused about politely dm Etchy-a-Sketchy. From my personal experience Etchy-a-Sketchy is a very patient person who honestly just wants to make the best drawing possible. 
> 
> https://etchy-a-sketchy.tumblr.com/post/627714842260832256/reblogs-are-greatly-appreciated 
> 
> https://etchy-a-sketchy.tumblr.com/

**Chapter 29**

“What did you do?”

“I….He...Ok look I was..uh-MAGIC and then the…” Lloyd trailed off as he felt Morro’s deadpan gaze burn two beady holes into his spluttering form. Jasper’s attention had also been thrown his way and it was glaringly obvious the two were going to wait for as long as need be for a much desired explanation. 

“Ok so here’s what happened,” Lloyd began, pausing to shakily inhale a deep breath as if getting some Oxygen to his brain would make his tongue feel any less like a deepstone armor piece. “Umm, so the secret bedroom uh, yeah I kinda found one of Koso’s spellbooks and...ok look I didn’t think it would actually work-I mean in a way I was right, I didn’t mean to turn Jasper into a-”

“Wait, Are you telling me this is the dog?!” Morro suddenly rasped, cutting Lloyd off as his gaze immediately darted back to Jasper whose own pure blue eyes were wide with realization. 

“Oh...so that’s how you made me like this.” Jasper mused his tone oddly light for someone-err some animal suddenly given the ability to form tangible thought. “Wow, I guess ol’e bean pole’s hand wavy stuff is pretty powe-Hey wait! You just call me a f**king dog?!” 

Before either teen could so much as blink, Jasper was on his feet, Morro’s bed covers thankfully still tightly clinging to his muscled torso like a comically elongated raggedy old skirt . 

“I. Am. A. Wolf. Period. You got that? Those... _ house pets  _ don’t even come close to me.” Jasper (for lack of a better word) growled as he boldly slammed a calloused against his chest with confidence akin to certain Earth master Lloyd couldn’t stop imagining standing in the former wolf’s place.

“You do realize a second ago you didn’t even know what you were. You know, cause you were literally a do-animal.” Morro flatly replied, the annoyance in his voice radiating in thick waves of obvious exasperation. 

“Pft, shows what you know. I always knew what I was- _ am _ , don’t need to be one of y’all to know that. I just do and always will.” Jasper flippantly rebutted as he crossed a pair of startlingly well scarred arms over his chest. 

Morro merely blinked before turning to face Lloyd, with the space between his thick eyebrows already tightly clenched between his fingertips.

“So…. you’re telling me you found a spellbook, Koso’s spellbook and then you...accidentally turned  _ him _ into a human?” 

Lloyd nodded, grinding his lower lip between his teeth like a sawmill as Morro released another sigh. 

“Okay ok,ok,ok,ok so...what can we do? You know before the old man gets back and dismembers us both?”

“Uhhhh, well….” Before Lloyd realized it he suddenly felt the prickling sensation of his hands frantically scratching the back of his neck as his mind whirled trying to find an answer. “I think maybe...I could try casting that spell again, maybe.”

For a split second, Lloyd imagined he saw a spark of panic within Morro’s eyes as the wind master inhaled another steady stream of air before abruptly slamming his palms together and slowly exhaling.

“Ok, that’s... _ fine _ . This is fine. Yeah, yeah let’s just...do that. Can’t be that hard right?.”

**ForgottenFamily**

**“** How the f**K is this so hard!?” Morro unhelpfully ranted from his spot beside Lloyd as the blonde tried in vain to snap his fingers for the billionth time whilst the bold black symbol silently mocked him with it’s simplicity in design. This was by far the most difficult spell Lloyd had ever attempted to perform then again that wasn’t exactly saying much since the blonde’s experience with magic was rather limited (limited in the sense that he had only performed exactly two spells throughout his entire lifetime and one was literally just five hours ago... _ by accident _ .)

“He’s gonna kill us. You first, because you started all this sh*t and then me because of course it’ll all be my fault some f**king how.” Morro exaggeratedly complained, making Lloyd wonder if Jay had somehow managed to switch bodies with the former ghost.

“Maybe...we could just...hide him.” Lloyd suggested, before promptly regretting it when Morro fixed him with a ‘are you kidding me’ look.

“What? It could work. Koso doesn’t even like Jasper so he probably won’t ca-”

In a stroke of profound irony the green ninja was abruptly cut off by the sound of heavy feet pounding against the creaky wooden floor. Looking up both Lloyd and Morro starred as Jasper pressed his face up against the glass of their bedroom window and started screaming at the highest pitch possible for a newly turned human.

“HEY YOU! YEAH YOU! I SEE YOU MOTHERF**KER! HEY! GET BACK HERE!”

The two teenagers instantly panic as they consider the possibility that Jasper was yelling at Koso. Thankfully however as they shot to their feet and made their way to the window, Lloyd and Morro were met with the sight of nothing more than a humble rabbit innocently hopping about in the early evening hours seemingly without a care in the world.

As Lloyd exhaled a soft sigh of relief he also felt Morro’s eyes back on him as if to say ‘I told you so.’ 

“Look, I don’t know, okay!” The blonde defensively admitted as they stepped away from the transfixed former wolf. “I just...it’s already 4 o’clock, we’re running out of time. Koso’ll probably be back in another hou-”

Just then, the blonde’s words were cut through with the force of a jack hammer as the sound of footsteps and something being put down (most likely on the kitchen table) filled the room. 

Both teenagers immediately froze. The atmosphere suddenly turned icy cold. Without thinking about it, Lloyd had already shoved a freckled finger between his lips, ,making sure both Morro and Jasper were aware of his silent command to stay quiet as he hesitantly edged towards the door.

If he greeted Koso first then maybe the green eyed man wouldn’t feel the need to enter their bedroom.

With the sole motivation of not wanting to get caught in mind the blonde carefully tiptoed down the hallway into the living room, bracing himself for Koso’s inquisitive gaze as he made his grand entrance.

However much to Lloyd’s defied expectations, Koso was nowhere to be seen.

There was a small moment of relief flooding through Lloyd’s veins ,before he was suddenly the realization that if, that wasn’t Koso then…..

‘What the! Who’s here! How did they get i-’

Once more Lloyd’s train of thought was promptly derailed, however this time the cause was not verbal ,but rather visual.

There on the kitchen counter was a long thin cardboard box with a note attached. Cautiously stepping closer, the green ninja immediately recognized the handwriting on the note as Koso’s.

Arching a perplexed brow, the blonde carefully picked up the note for closer inspection. 

_ Dear insufferable brats, _

_ As disappointed as I’m  _ **_sure_ ** _ you both are, I’m afraid I am unfortunately held up at the moment. Not to fear I should be back before morning tomorrow. Until then, I have decided to be kind and bring home some dinner. I’m sure you’re sick of rabbit anyway. However before you dine I must request that you refrain from touching the one with the fish, you’ll see what I mean once you open the box. _

_ Before I end this letter I’m just going to remind you both to  _ **_behave._ ** _ I'm remiss to say I’m in a bad mood right now and I truly truly pity the next fool to irk my ire. _

_ -Koso _

“Dinner?” Lloyd asked aloud as he set the note aside to further inspect the box below. 

Then. The most wonderful, tantalizing smell was gracefully dancing across his senses like the most beautiful ballad known to Ninjago. 

No it couldn’t. There’s no way.

The blonde’s hand was already at the helm of the box ripping it open with renewed vigour to peer inside. 

Pizza. It was pizza, cheese pizza in fact, perfect and pure and just wonderful in every way-hey wait.

Lloyd’s thoughts came to a sudden halt as he took notice of a single slice standing out against the river of golden cheddar with a layer of tiny blue fish, staining the near perfect meal like the lone crooked finger of an otherwise gorgeous painting.

As the blonde’s thoughts spurred with more than a thousand thoughts as he tried to rationalize his more than a little bizarre circumstances, he could only make out two definite statements.

One. They had until tomorrow to turn Jasper back and two apparently Koso liked anchovies. 

Great, as if Lloyd needed another reason to dislike his captor. 

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

__

**_Some time before that_ **

Of all places Koso could have expected to find himself that evening, waiting in a line of some famous eatery was not high on his list. 

However that mattered little because one of the old man’s many _ many _ talking points about how to better teach his ‘students’ was to apparently be  _ kinder _ towards them.

It shouldn’t be too hard really. He was already making the generous sacrifice of purchasing them a meal that seemed to be pretty popular among the youth of Ninjago City (granted it wasn’t the most  _ creative  _ nicety he could come up with, he only had so much time to spend pointlessly wandering about Ninjago city like a common buffoon).

What was it called again? Pitza, no that wasn’t right Piazza, also no..Pezza, no…. oh well a name was at most a superficial label most of the time anyway. Koso knew that better than anyone. At any rate if he were being honest, Koso didn’t exactly see the appeal. From what he could tell it appeared to be a simple combination of bread, cheese and -

“Next!”

Koso was pulled from his lackadaisical musings as a young boy in an obnoxiously red uniform waved him to the front counter.

“Good evening sir. Welcome to Berry’s Pizza Gallery. What can I get you?”

‘Well they’ve certainly trained, they're errand boys at this establishment’ Koso thought bemusedly as he stared down at the short lad whose expression portrayed the same mundane boredom of the professional basket weavers from Koso’s day.

As the ravenette’s sharp eyes darted to the menu, he immediately found himself confused, much to his inner embarrassment and shame. This new generation of Ninjagians certainly liked having options. The ‘menu’ read more like one of Tera’s old ten page essays about her most recent discovery of a new kind of amphibian. 

So in order to guise his confusion Koso simply looked back down at the working teenager and bluntly commanded.

“Well, you look pretty young so tell me what do the youth of these parts tend to enjoy?”

The young man immediately looked up from his hunched over position over the register, his tired eyes slightly wider than before as a confused frown graced his freckled features.

“Ummm, well most of our customers order a large chee-”

“Perfect.” Koso flatly interrupted. “I’ll have one of those then.”

“Umm ok, for here or to go”

“I believe to go is the correct term.” The teal eyed man boredly replied.

Once again the teenager was staring at him, his frown deepening as he quietly asked. “Is..is there like a Doomsday Comic convention going on near here or…” The boy trailed off as he eyed Koso up and down.

Now it was Koso’s turn to look confused. “Come again?”

“It’s uh..nothing, nevermind. Your total is $15.50” 

The sorcerer nodded his assent as he reached inside his white cloak. “Ah yes, I’m sure this will cover i- wait...what is that?”

Koso asked, his monotone inflection suddenly sounding slightly interested as he pointed 

across the room, in the far end of the kitchen where a young woman was spreading out a handful of little blue fish onto the sauce covered doe.

“Uh those?” The errand boy asked as he threw a thumb across his shoulder in the direction of the fish. At Koso’s nod, he replied. “Um, well those are anchovies. You know the little fish you can put on piz-”

“Yes. I would like some of those then.” Koso said already nodding to himself. “Just sprinkle some on a small section of the….uh..tomato cheese bread. If you would be so kind.”

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Despite his mood being slightly soured by the errand boy’s idiotic decision to ask if Koso had  _ actually  _ paid him in real gold to which the sorcerer had readily rebuked his idiotic claims by saying he was many things in this life ,but a perjure-st was not one of them, the teal eyed man couldn’t help ,but feel a sense of satisfaction as he strolled down the evening sun washed streets of Ninjago Pe-tza box in hand, getting ready to free his right so that he could snap himself back to the valley.

‘Alright I don't believe I have neglected any duties here. Seems I’m free to retu-’

Koso slid his train of thought to a screeching halt as he suddenly took notice of a total of four pairs of eyes peering at him through the mist of distance across the street. 

He knew they were trained on him and him alone because he was the only one currently standing on the crooked sidewalk pavement.

Despite his best efforts, Koso couldn’t help letting out an exasperated sigh as he focused in on the amber pair and immediately recognizing the mop of spiky brunette accompanying them from the many many news broadcasts he had seen during his short visit. All of them featured the boy standing with his friends as they pleaded for anyone and everything in Ninjago to come to them if they had even just a scrap of information about their lost brother. 

Koso had never considered himself unintelligent and so it was easy for him to come to the logical conclusion that in the now increasingly darkening hours of evening the boy had recognized the glowing quality of his green eyes that matched nearly identically to the many posters from his oh so wise sensei’s amazingly accurate descriptions. 

‘I suppose they’re looking to challenge me.’ The teal eyed man quickly surmised as he watched the numerous pairs eyes steadily grow closer until four colorfully dressed bodies stood bunched together against the edge of the opposing street obviously ready to cross it once the road was clear. ‘I do suppose it couldn’t hurt to entertain the lad. After all who am I to deny someone’s right to an honorable duel.’

‘Well, looks like this may take a bit’ Koso mused as he looked back down the peetz-a.

‘It would be a shame to have this get cold and my exuberant efforts laid to waste.’ With that sole thought in mind, the ravenette lazily raised his right hand into the air.

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Lloyd wasn’t sure what reaction he expected to receive from Morro as he watched the former ghost hesitantly bite into the last, smallest edge of the pizza slice. It had taken every ounce of the blonde’s argumentative skills to convince the former ghost to just  _ try _ it ,but he still couldn’t help ,but mildly surprised when the wind master features simply relaxed as he shrugged and said.

“Not bad.”

The green ninja was remiss to agree ,but he’d be lying if he said he was in the mood to launch into a petty argument over the validity of pizza. That was Jay’s job.

As if reading his mind however, Jasper suddenly interjected from his criss cross spot on Morro’s bed saying. “Ay, you crazy this stuff is amazing!” The former wolf argued through a mouthful of cheese as he sloppily chomped down on his slice like a man- er  _ temporary _ man possessed.

Morro merely rolled his eyes in response, not so much as bothering with a reply as he slowly took another bite.

“Okay, seriously we only have until tomorrow before Koso gets back.” Lloyd reminded everyone in the room once he had conveniently finished his last slice.

“You’re right.” Morro sighed as he reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Get out the book, let's keep trying. Jasper get off my-the bed and get down here.” The wind master causally ordered as he got to his knees and pointed towards the center of the floor. 

Jasper eyed him for a second, before crossing his arms over his chest, harshly dismissing the wind master’s command with an abrupt head turn.

“Sorry I don’t take orders from guys who throw me into walls when all I ever did was try to be nic-”

“Are you seriously still upset about that?” The former ghost demanded his voice suddenly rising an octave. “We’ve got more important things to worry abo-”

“Jasper please?” Lloyd pleaded, cutting Morro off. The former wolf spared the green ninja a brief over the shoulder glance before hesitantly nodding his head, sighing as he did as told. 

The blonde could have very well imagined it ,but he could have sworn he saw something akin to jealousy flash across the wind master’s angular features. His theory of imagination ‘must’ have been correct because Morro had _maturely_ turned his head to the side, uttering a brief. “Whatever let’s just get this over with.” before falling into complete silence.

‘Well, this is gonna be a long night.’ Lloyd knowingly predicted as he flipped through the pages.

  
  


**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“Maybe it’s upside down.” Morro dumbly commented after over an hour of nothing ,but failure had passed. It was now Lloyd’s turn that day to look at the wind master with an expression of absolute disbelief. “Are you kidding me-”

“Well, I don’t hear anyone else offering ideas!”

At that Jasper suddenly snorted, as he obviously tried to stifle a bellow of laughter.

In an instant Morro’s accusing grey green eyes were on him. “Something funny?”

“Yeah,” The former wolf sighed in admittance once he had recovered. “I forgot how funny y’all are when you get all mad.”

The wind master once again rolled his eyes, this time saying. “Look, because of  _ you _ , we could very well all get our a**es kicked by that f**king old man so if you could just keep your mouth shut. I would really appreciate that!” 

“My fault?! How’s this my fault?” Jasper immediately shot back, offense obvious in his stance.

After taking a second to pant after his long (honestly unnecessary ramble) Morro responded with. “Uh yeah! If you hadn’t had distracted the idiot, he wouldn’t have done this to you!”

“Hey-

Lloyd’s defensive protest was cut short by Jasper’s snarl. “Well, if  _ you  _ hadn’t pushed me away when I just wanted some f**king egg, I wouldn’t have felt the need to find Lloyd in the first place.”

For what must have been the millionth time that day alone Morro rolled his eyes sarcastically muttering. “Oh yeah nothing like a dog,always thinking of your stomach.”

“I head that!” Jasper angrily declared, his upper lip curled upwards as he let out a toothy snarl. “Urgh, I can’t believe you’re Elizabeth’s so-….oh wait dammit.. F**K!”

The previously less than hospitable atmosphere was suddenly thrown into a cold tundra of hostility as Morro stared wide eyed at Jasper, his already pale fists immediately clenching into pure white knots so tight they were beginning to look transparent. 

“What...did.you. just. say?” Morro grounded out, all previous exasperation and boredom banished from his razor sharp inflection.

At that exact moment, Jasper’s azure eyes took on a hue of what could only be described as melancholy. 

“Oh.. right. I forgot.”

“Forgot wha-” Morro’s demand was promptly cut off as Lloyd gasped in realization.

“Wait,” The blonde hastily stumbled towards his bead and yanked out the other book. The picture one. That..that girl...could she be?

As he grasped the frail edges of the old painting between his fingertips, the green ninja wasted no time straightening up and trying his best not to just shove the illustration in the face of the former wolf.

“Is this Elizabeth?” Lloyd bluntly asked, pointing to the girl with the green hair whilst trying his damndest not to avert looking back at Morro. He didn’t need to look to see the shock and betrayal swimming within the wind master’s grey green orbs.

Almost instantly Jasper’s expression brightened as his features shifted through a variety of imperceptible emotions. Each wild with passion despite being as brief as the last flicker of a dying flame.

After a moment that could have very well been a century and Lloyd would have been none the wiser, the former wolf’s expression eventually settled back to his previously melancholic visage this time with a wistful smile adorning his features like a drop of color in an otherwise grey void of nothing. 

“Yeah, that’s...Master alright.” Jasper confirmed, as he slowly raised a course palm to gently lift the picture into his own hands. Lloyd let him. “Damn, this one’s old as hell you know. Little one’s not even in it.”

‘What?! Another mystery person?’ Despite the immediate desire to ask who ‘little one’ was, Lloyd realized looking back at Morro’s intense stare that he had some stuff to answer to first.

“Morro….I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know if showing that to you was a good ide-”

“Is she my mother?” The wind master straight out asked

For the first time since he had been turned into a human just fifteen seconds ago, Jasper looked unsure of himself as he shifted back and forth on his toes like a toddler about to confess to sticking his grubby hands into the cookie jar.

“I...I..-”

“Spit it out, yes or no?” Morro demanded, his quiet deadpan inflection meshing horribly with the otherwise heavy subject matter spewing from his lips. “Is. She. my. Mother?”

For a brief tense ten second moment of silence that seemed to span over the course of a thousand years, Jasper and Morro just stared at one another as if both were engaged in an unspoken,  _ un-humorous _ staring contest.

Then finally,Jasper gave his reply.

“It’s...a long story.”

“I don’t need a long story.” Morro rebutted without missing a beat. “I need a yes or a no. It’s that simple.”

“No it’s not!” Jasper shouted back, his voice heavy with unspoken emotion. “Being a wolf, that’s simple. You  _ humans  _ are anything but!” 

The former wolf exhaled a shaky breath as he stumbled backwards, seemingly only able to find balance once he found a spot on the wall to lean against.

“I guess...you’re right. It is a simple answer. But Master Elizabeth deserves more than just a yes or a no, if you really want the truth out of me, you need to know the whole story.” Jasper firmly declared as the room descended into another long stretch of tense silence that was only broken when Morro finally sighed, quietly saying.

“Ok, fine. Let’s hear it. Tell me why that b**h abandoned me.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a question, could Koso be classified as a boomer. LeT mE kNOw iN tHe cOmMeNtS.
> 
> Seriously y’all thank you for reading I couldn’t have gotten this far with these stories without y’all’s support.


	32. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys back again with a new chapter at last, so real quick I just wanted to clarify that these flashbacks will be broken up into three parts because oof it's a lot. So right now we are on part 1, hope y'all enjoy. 
> 
> Also since Jasper is basically a fictional race of wolf that I made up on the spot I really don't feel the need to include the part about wolves and dogs being colorblind. I mean it's a fanfic at the end of the day so...let's just say because Jasper's breed isn't even real that he can just see color. Okay. We good? Awesome!

"Ok, fine. Let's hear it. Tell me why that b**h abandoned me."

Jasper's irises seemed to shrink and widened all at once as he braced a broad palm flat against the bedroom wall and drew in a hasty breath.

As Lloyd mindlessly stared on in a mixture of confusion and curiosity, a significant thought crossed his mind. Was this not okay to just ….listen in on...should.. he even be here? In this room? If the tables had been turned….oh wait they had been, a long time ago.

'That's right I've seen him. He waits for you-'

"It wasn't like that. She didn't-she would never," Jasper abruptly spluttered, defensive obvious in his inflection as his words dragged Lloyd back to the present. "I.. look...ok...ok, I guess we should start at when Master and I left the shop..."

_ForgottenFamily_

_Jasper did not like humans._

_Well most humans._

_Well, more specifically any human that wasn't his master, Elizabeth._

_Master Elizabeth was everything and he was her most loyal, truest, protector._

_That was why when a pair of gargantuan footsteps came creeping into the storage room that night the wolf didn't hesitate to come barreling towards the intruder at full speed._

_To his infinite surprise however, the trespassing steps were none other than Master Elizabeth's herself. Jasper recognized her scent immediately despite the thick coat cloaking her from head to toe. Master always smelled like Black tea._

_It seemed Master recognized him too -no thanks to Greta (the only other human being Jasper could build up enough effort to tolerate for more than just food) and her stingy principles regarding the purchasing of more than just two lanterns to keep the shop lit up at night-because within a second, she was on her knees, stretching out a comforting hand towards his fur._

_The wolf sensing an unspoken order hastily sat back on his hind legs as he allowed his master's petite hand to graze his fur._

" _Good boy." Elizabeth whispered, her voice uncharacteristically soft against the deafening silence of night. "We'll need to be quiet okay, can't wake up Greta."_

_Jasper tilted his head in confusion. What was Master talking about?_

_The wolf didn't have much time to think before Elizabeth's hand was on the back of his neck and he was being coaxed towards the storage door, all but ripped off its hinges as the night's thick mist came creeping through it like a horde of little clouds._

_Jasper could only let out a guttural whine as he watched the fog begin to lap at his heels like one of those horrid alley cats._

" _Shh, it's okay boy." Elizabeth comforted as her hand momentarily tightened against his fur before it abruptly released._

_Before Jasper could have time to mourn, his gaze was suddenly pulled back towards Elizabeth as she began approaching the gaping doorway._

_The ravenette woman leaned out just enough for Jasper not to feel the need to grasp the lower ends of her cloak between his jaws and save her from disappearing to the swirling misty void._

_Then she turned her gaze side to side, further befuddling Jasper's confused wolf brain before blindly reaching out a hand behind her, obviously signaling for the wolf's presence._

_Jasper cautiously crept towards the hand until it delicately rested on top of his muzzle. Elizabeth let out a low sigh (could've been a chuckle) ,gave his nose a little scratch, then without a word stepped outside._

_From there everything seemed to be lost in a blurry haze of excitement as the wolf's basic instincts took over and before he knew it, he was out the door as well, wasting no time following the sound of his master's retreating footsteps._

_**ForgottenFamily** _

" _I didn't know why we left that night and..at the time I didn't really care all I knew was that wherever Master went I would be there, by her side….so I was and we traveled all over Ninjago together, sleeping outside most nights, hunting for food, sometimes going days at a time without rest. It ...it wasn't easy on Master I knew that, and I was so worried most nights I hardly ever went to sleep before her ,but you know I think it all made her stronger and I think that was what she wanted. Everyday she trained with those wind powers and everyday I could tell she was getting stronger."_

" _I've almost got it!" Elizabeth shouted to herself for what must have been the fifth time in the span of one minute. Jasper watched with weary eyes as Master strained against the cast iron stones she had deliberately tied to her ankles. Beneath the shadow of her down turned palms the ground was a mess of flying leaves and dirt._

' _Please, please be careful master.' Jasper desperately internally pleaded._

_If Master could somehow hear his thoughts she paid no heed to them only offering an aggressive grunt to her loyal companion as a reply. Master's feet were firmly planted into the ground without so much as a single toe space left between them and the ground._

_Master's neck and arms were bulging with strained veins forced to the edge of her increasingly reddening skin as she grinded her teeth together, as the cycling vortexes of air currents beneath her increased in strength._

_Just then a flash of lightning streaked across the sky right before a flood poured from the heavens, drenching everything within it's reach- including Jasper and his master._

" _ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Elizabeth angrily gargled over the sounds of Jasper loud barking._

_Still her wind refused to cease and neither did she. Jasper's attempts to lead her over to some tree or shrub for shelter were all brushed off without so much as an over the shoulder glance._

" _Just a little longer Jasper, then we'll find shelter." Master grunted as she began to tremble against the torturous combination of pounding rain, wind, and stone assaulting her lithe form._

_The wolf could only emit a throaty whine in response. Please let Master be ok, please let Master not push it too far, ple-_

_It was only when Jasper had dropped his head in his lull of defeat that he noticed the narrow ,but definitely there strip of air between the wind master's feet and the mud._

"We kept at it like that for a while until….one day we kinda got-"

_**ForgottenFamily** _

_Lost_

_They were lost._

_Jasper knew they were lost, because Master looked ready to set wrinkled parchment tightly clenched between her scabby knuckles on fire._

" _That stupid, little, crooked, filthy, no good, swindling, WITCH!" Elizabeth suddenly shouted, causing Jasper to have to realign his walk pattern behind her, lest he face the wrath of a thousand nearby tree branches being tossed about in the wake of his master's furious wind._

" _I can't believe I bought this map, we'd have better luck navigating these woods blindfolded Jasper!"_

_The wolf could only emit a brief growl as a sign of agreement. Humans were usually like that. tricky things with no sense of loyalty. He had smelled the lies radiating off that woman the second she approached them in the marketplace. He only wished Master possessed the same innate senses, otherwise they may not be wandering around in the middle of some forest with sunset fast approaching._

" _It looks like we may have to make due with setting up camp tonight." Elizabeth reluctantly admitted with a sigh as her fury yielded to practicality and her winds eventually ceased their relentless torment of the forest floor as well._

" _Alright well, no use moping about it. We'll just have to start again before sunrise…. Hey how about over , that looks like a good spo-"_

_Jasper froze and he was sure Master did as well because out of nowhere a loud, garish howl pierced the evening air like the sharpest tip of an arrow slashing the skin of its target._

_In an instant the useless map was thrown at Elizabeth's feet as she bolted towards the direction of the cry, and in another instant the wolf was of course right on his master's metaphorical tail._

_After a few long moments of the two darting through the crowded wood together, dodging many stray roots and branches along the way, Master Elizabeth's sprint abruptly ground to a halt, causing Jasper to slide along the damp forest floor like a boat as he forced himself to a stop._

_There before the two stood a massive tree whose arms and roots seemed to stretch on for miles and…. on one of those arms there what appeared to be a fairly young man( a very dirty one, Jasper duly noted) hanging upside down by a length of rope tied around his ankles._

_Elizabeth's eyes bulged. Jasper would be lying if he possessed a human mouth and said his did not as well._

_The man noticed them immediately, going as far as to offer the travelers a friendly wave ( never mind the fact Elizabeth and Jasper had to tilt their heads to get the proper view) as he swayed against the gentle breeze like a forgotten wind chime._

" _Oh thank the departed realm. I thought I'd burn my lungs out before someone found me! H-Hello there!" The man yelled whilst cupping his hands around his mouth, as if he were afraid they had somehow missed him. "Would you please be kind enough to help me down!"_

_For a moment Elizabeth simply stood there in a dumbfounded haze before it seemed to suddenly hit her, the man was in fact speaking to him._

_In an instant her stance straightened as a stone face expression took over her features._

" _Don't worry sir. I'm the elemental master of wind. I should be able to get you down in no time." Even Master's voice sounded slightly deeper than before._

" _Oh? That's..that's very nice, now if you look at the trunk you should be able to see where the bandits tied the end of the ro-"_

" _Just hold still sir you'll be on the ground in no time!" Elizabeth called out, as her legs abruptly shifted to bend at the knee granting her more leverage towards the ground as she raised her calloused hands into the air and began summoning a steady current of wind to swirl between her fingertips._

" _Uh..wait, what exactly are you-"_

" _Just stay calm sir!" She yelled, once again cutting him off._

_Jasper made sure to back up a few spaces behind her, knowing too well where this was going._

" _I-I really don't think you have to do that!" The boy hastily spluttered as the wind sphere rapidly developed in size. Master paid the man's pleas no mind and after a tense beat of silence….she released the current directly towards the man._

_In an instant the young man's terrified scream was drowned out as the entire branch he was hanging from came crashing directly towards the ground in a booming cathartic display of complete destruction._

_Luckily for him, Master Elizabeth was generous enough to cast a spare burst of wind his way both to cut his feet free and in order to gently ease his free falling body away from the puff of dust, dirt, and scattered tree limbs that had been left in the wake of the branch's untimely end towards the far more cushiony wild grass where she delicately let him land on his apparently bare ( and even filthier feet)._

" _O-oh my!" The young man exclaimed his pitch reaching an octave that almost hurt Jasper's ears._

" _Are you hurt?" Elizabeth immediately asked, her tone even despite the inkling of pride obviously trying to wedge itself through._

" _Huh? Oh no,no I'm fine now. T-thank you so much for saving me," Now that the trembling stranger was much closer, Jasper was able to get a much better look at his appearance._

_On top of the boy's head rested a mop of shaggy brown (no doubt bug infested) hair that fell to just above his ears before completely cutting off in a jagged tear very much unlike Master's own well trimmed bangs (though they had grown out quite a bit over the months they spent traveling). His attire was no more than an over sized washrag some humans may deem fit to call a shirt and a pair of dark blue pants with perhaps more patches than actual whole fabric and to make the boyish man's already strange appearance even stranger, on the left side of his worn pants there was a stout cylindrical wooden tube tucked inside. The dusty wood was splattered with a chaotic mess of colors ranging from an almost sickly lime yellow to a downright gaudy ruby vermilion._

" _There's no need to thank me, I was simply doing my duty as the master of wind." Elizabeth quickly acquiesced._

" _Oh wow!" The boy enthusiastically awed. " I never thought I'd get to meet an elemental master! I guess getting robbed turned out to not be so bad after all!"_

" _I'm very sorry this has happened to-"_

" _Yeah was up there for a few days you know, really thought I was gonna die from starvation or something." The young man explained with a nervous chuckle as he raised a grimy hand to scratch the back of his even grimier neck. "Thankfully since it's the rainy season I didn't have to worry about going dehydrated."_

_Were Jasper able to, he might have rolled his pure sapphire eyes at that. You'd think with all that rain the human's abominable stench might have washed away as well._

" _Oh what a lovely dog you have there. Is it a boy or a girl?" The stranger suddenly blabbered, apparently noticing the wolf's lingering gaze._

_Jasper let out a low growl. He did NOT appreciate being called 'dog'._

" _He's actually a wolf." Elizabeth graciously corrected. "Well, to be precise a Nira wolf, very rare species ,but they're so old evidence of they're kind dates back to Ninjago's dark times." Master went out, not sounding the least bit smug and or long winded._

" _Oh...that's ..fascinating." The man replied simply. "He sure is big."_

_Jasper's upper lip pulled back in a toothy snarl as his growling intensified to an audible hum when the foolish man reached out a filthy hand towards him, clearly intent on laying that mangy thing on his fur._

" _W-wait don't!" Elizabeth clumsily stuttered after having immediately taken notice of the sudden development. The ravenette reached out a hand towards the stranger obviously hoping to pull him back before he did something stupid ,but before she could he was running his dumb human mouth again._

" _Oh, wow. Silly me, I guess I should've offered these first huh?" The stranger obnoxiously snorted as he pulled his hand back (smartest move he'd made thus far) to rummage through one of his pant's thread bare pockets and fish out what appeared to be a….wait a minute, was that...oh yes it was, Departed Realm it was….FOOD!_

_A small piece of hard no doubt stale rabbit jerky to be more precise ,but still food nonetheless._

_Jasper could have cried as he cautiously inched closer and closer towards the man's upturned palm. With less than a moment's hesitation the wolf sloppily snatched the jerky from the stranger's hand. If he had accidentally tore into the skin of the boy's hand -which was probably highly unlikely considering the thick layer of dirt and grime protecting him- then the young man should have known better than to offer something to such a vicious, fearsome animal such as himself._

_As the hardened meat easily slid down Jasper's massive jaw and the boy was already assaulting him with demeaning phrases such as 'good boy', Elizabeth seemed to have suddenly stumbled across some sort of amazing epiphany based on the subtle gleam in her azure eyes._

" _Um so, Sir sorry to be blunt ,but I was wondering if you happen to know where the nearest village i-"_

" _Oh my departed realm, do you need somewhere to stay for the night?!" The young man excitedly asked as he spun around to face Elizabeth. "Because well, we're really close to my village and...I..it would be an honor to house you at my humble estate! I could cook for you, maybe even give you some coin for your troubles!"_

_Elizabeth's azure pupils once again expanded as her jaw gaped open like a fish for a moment before she suddenly seemed to be able to process the boy's rushed offer and with great effort schooled her features back into a stoic frown._

" _I'll respectfully accept your offer of gratitud-"_

" _Great! Follow me we'll be there in no time." The boy happily exclaimed as he turned in the opposite direction ,but not before first getting up close to the wind master and her wolf with a sickly sweet look in his eye._

" _By the way would you mind terribly if I carried your things? You were such a good Samaritan to me I would be eternally grateful to begin paying you back for your kindness in this small way."_

_Elizabeth uncharacteristically flinched back, as her hands tightly wound themselves around the strap of her satchel securely hanging over her shoulder._

" _That's..not nec-"_

" _Please?" The young man begged, his eyes seemingly widening on command as he wrapped his fingers together in front like a gesture of prayer. "I just want to repay my savior!"_

_Elizabeth bit her lip as she looked towards the ground whilst her hands continuously clenched and unclenched around her satchel strap._

" _I...ok."_

_**ForgottenFamily** _

_Jasper generally thought humans walked pretty funny, what with their whole mind boggling two leg obsession, however this boy's walk looked even funnier than most. There was just something about the way his legs moved. The right one seemed normal enough, however the left one seemed almost like dead weight with such a strange stiffness the man had to swing it outward and back around in a small circle with each step, causing his whole body to minutely spring upwards like a human cockatoo._

" _Are you sure you're not injured?" Master Elizabeth hesitantly asked, her eyes glued to the man's strange stride as well._

" _It isn't from the fall, don't worry." The young man instantly replied, sparing them not so much as a backwards glance as he continued to hobble through the thick grass. "I, uh..broke my foot a while ago when I was helping my father with some farming stuff, should be healed in a few days then I won't have to wear this splint." That explained the stiffness._

" _So…...what's your name?" The boy asked jumping topics faster than a Grundle. "Sorry would've asked earlier ,but I guess the excitement kinda got to me you know, I mean it's not everyday you meet an elementa-"_

" _It's Elizabeth." Master bluntly cut in." and If it's not too much trouble I ask for yours as well?" She hesitantly went on._

" _Wow, look at the manners on you." The stranger responded with an amused chuckle. "Yeah of course. Name's Adam." The young man cheerily supplied with a toothy over the shoulder grin (at least his teeth were relatively clean)._

_Elizabeth hummed. "So, were you traveling alone?"_

" _Uh,Yeah."_

_Elizabeth nodded. "Do you think those bandits are still around here somewhere?"_

_For the fraction of a second, Jasper thought he saw the boy's edges of smile turn downwards and his palms shake slightly before it was all pushed away replaced with his ever friendly demeanor._

" _Umm, I don't know to be honest. They took off that way ,but there's no telling where they were headed." Adam responded, sounding earnest. "Might've been a gang or something ,I'm not sure they kept their faces hidden so I wouldn't know." The young man's gaze turned back toward their path. "And If I'm being truthful here, I really care. They only stole some of my clothes and silver, not really worth the trouble to go after them."_

_Elizabeth hummed again. "Those criminals will face their own soon. I'm sure."_

" _You really think so?" The boy laughed again, this time sounding actually amused._

" _Yes." Master's gaze flickered down towards the grass as her crossed arms tightened around her midsection. "Everyone faces the consequences for their actions. It's just a matter of when."_

" _Hmph, good moto." Adam sighed._

_For the next few moments the three walked in relative silence save for the sounds of the busy forest surrounding them._

_Then Adam stopped._

_Elizabeth and Jasper looked at each other in surprise before Master quietly ground out,_

" _Adam?"_

_No answer._

_Master furrowed a perplexed brow as she cautiously took a step toward the boy, Jasper following along all ,but tied to her side._

" _Why did you st-"_

_The ravenette was unfortunately not allowed to finish that query because before she could there was an abrupt sharp snapping noise briefly followed by a high pitch scream and surprised bark and then she and Jasper were no longer on the ground._

_They were in a tightly confined grey net (made of a strange feeling material the likes of which Jasper had never seen before), hanging halfway between the top of the tree and the grass from one of the random trees like a lifeless rattlebag._

_Elizabeth's features turned pale with shock as she stared down at the somewhat distant ground whilst Jasper's mind whirled with outrage._

_What?! How did this happen?!_

_Still clearly lost in the haze of shock, Elizabeth forced herself to inhale a few lungfuls of air as she continued to stare below. Then with practiced ease she stretched out a hand as best she could under the circumstances and closed her eyes in concentration._

_Jasper waited patiently, any minute now Master would summon her wind and get them dow-_

_Suddenly the sound of an exasperated sigh broke the tense air like a nail against fragile glass._

" _Sorry that ain't gonna work hun. Won that sh*t at a poker game. Guy said it's supposed to disarm you elemental freaks."_

_Far below them, Adam was casually staring up at them, his arms crossed in an almost..._ _**prideful** _ _stance._

" _I think he said it was called, uh vangestone no wait, eh something like that"_

_With tremendous effort Elizabeth snapped her eyes open,shocked realization obvious in her azure gaze._

" _YOU-"_

" _Yeah I tricked y'all." The wicked deceitful little human casually called up to them. His earlier childlike cheeriness banished completely from his inflection. "Guess Lady Luck's on my side today. Didn't really think I was convincing enough, good thing you're pretty dumb huh?"_

" _SHUT UP!" Elizabeth screamed back. "YOU LITTLE! I SWEAR, I'LL-" Master had to halt herself long enough to catch hold of her frustration and calm down long enough to speak normally._

_After taking a moment getting her temper back in check, Elizabeth forced her features into a cool, calm expression as she turned her gaze downcast yet again._

" _Ok! Listen, I don't know why you've done this ,but if you let me down now there is the smallest fraction of a chance that I_ _ **might**_ _go easy on y-GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS AWAY FROM THERE!"_

_Jasper growled in agreement as he angrily watched the disgusting liar rummage through Elizabeth's satchel, leaving gross dirt covered handprints everywhere._

" _Huh? Did you say something?" The boy sardonically replied as he fished out a handful of silver and gold coins._

" _Hmm, not exactly a mobster's daughter are you?" He asked with haughty amusement inspecting the money with flagrant disinterest. "Otherwise he might have given you some decent coin right? Nah I bet you're from a mining-no that's not right...ooh I got it,tea selling family! Well either that or you just really like tea, that would explain the smell." The young man mused, making an exaggerated fan gesture for good measure._

_Jasper snarled a toothy howl. HE was one to talk._

" _Well it's been fun ,but," Adam buckled the satchel shut before carelessly swinging it over his shoulder. "Afraid now I have to go."_

" _WHAT!? SO YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE US HERE TO DIE!" Elizabeth roared, her teeth looking close to breaking beneath the pressure with which she clenched them together. Her knuckles were no better, and..no less white._

_Adam's small figure shrugged dismissively as he bent down by a random bush and pulled out what appeared to be a pair of wooden sandals. After taking less than a fraction of a second to slip them on, the boy was already walking away not bothering to so much as look back as he replied._

" _I'm sure you won't die, just scream really loud and I'm sure_ _ **someone**_ _will find you, I mean you found me after all."_

_For the rest of that night as they struggled and fought with all their might against the cursed net, Elizabeth would continually refuse to cease her verbal triad of horrendously unlady-like swears of revenge against the thief._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AnD thIs iS WhY wE DoN't lEt nO mAn HoLd OuR tHiNgS LaDiES! X3
> 
> Thank y'all for reading and being patient with me! Be sure to let me know what you thought in the comments. I'm always here for critique XD!


	33. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omg guys, my fingers actually started to cramp when I finished writing this so that’s something anyway hope y’all enjoyed be sure to let me know your thoughts and opinions if have any. Till next time when we finally finish this flashback!

“Wow…...you really fell for that?” Morro boredly asked, his consistently uninterested inflection tainted with the barest modicum of disappointment whilst Lloyd winced with sympathy in the background. 

“I-Look it was a different time!” Jasper admitted defensively. “Elemental masters were for more….revered than they are now. Ok, Anyway,” The former wolf sighed, exaggerating the ‘Any’ with the vigour of a funeral director. “We ended up stuck in that tree for...an  _ unimportant  _ amount of time until thankfully some local huntsman just happened to spot us on one of their trips. They were kind enough to let us down and even direct us towards the nearest village.”

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_ “He’ll be screaming like a little schoolboy when I’m through with him!” Elizabeth swore as she continued to gulp down lungfuls from the cup of lukewarm tea shoved against her chapped lips. _

_ “Then -oh this is the best part Jasper- I’ll bury him six feet under and you know what HE’LL STILL BE SCREAMING!” The wind master manaically cackled, her shaky grip sloshing bouts of liquid from side to side like a chaotic water typhoon.  _

_ The Inn room they had been gifted (perks of elemental heritage) was on the rather small side ,but thankfully also came with a set of twin beds. Jasper usually liked to sleep right next to his master ,but considering the course of the events that happened prior, the wolf was intelligent enough to see Elizabeth needed space tonight. _

_ “First thing tomorrow we’re gonna find that thieving little snake and…” Elizabeth trailed off as she slowly sat down on her bed and reached up to untie the twine holding up the majority of her raven hair in a high ponytail, her gaze suddenly seeming vastly far away and unfocused.  _

_ “Then we’ll…..we’ll get it back….we have to.” Master hesitantly prophesied.  _

_ Whining in agreement, Jasper gently eased his aching head into the crook of his crossed paws after he had just jumped onto the other bed.  _

_ “Now we’ll have to find work somewhere, urgh I don’t know, maybe this village has some random thugs I can take down for a reward. ” Elizabeth mused huffing a short exhale thus granting the side green bangs plastered to her cheeks momentary relief from her blushing skin. _

_ With a throaty yawn, Master gently reclined onto her bed’s course sheets as the miniscule candlelight barely lighting their shabby room began to die away and in its place came faint rays of moonlight creeping in through the windows and illuminating the whole space with a soft white glow. _

_ As Elizabeth’s azure eyes began to slowly ease themselves shut and Jasper was left to stare and wait for her imminent return come morning (just like every night), the ravenette mumbled a hoarse barely audible whisper. _

_ “Mark my words,I eve- _ **_Once_ ** _ I see that filthy deadbeat thieving scoundrel again, I'll make his lungs explode…..or something” _

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“So next morning we asked around for any info on the guy and well no one matched his description so we didn’t get anywhere that day,or the next,.. or the next,....or the- Ok, point is, it took us while -around four months if we want to be specific here-,but then finally just when Master was about to ready to maybe  _ consider _ cutting her losses and moving on we found her bag…”

_ “Four silver coins!” Master Elizabeth’s jaw could have crushed the skeletal remains of a Grundle as she stared down at her long lost satchel pinned down to the crooked sales table along with a plethora of at least a dozen other cheaply sewn rucksacks, all adorning a fairly hefty price tag.  _

_ “Yeah? So? You gonna buy something or just continue standing there?” Asked the lanky market vender, his tone bleeding irritable impatience.  _

_ Graciously ignoring the man’s flagrant disrespect, in favor of keeping her gaze trained on the bag and it’s offending price tag, Elizabeth quickly asked. “Sir, how did you get this bag?” _

_ “Eh some chump traded it to me an hour ago on my lunch break. Said it was an antique.” _

_ “Can you tell me what he looked like?!” The ravenette hastily asked as she leaned further across the sales table. _

_ Sorry ,but that’s against my rules of discretio-” The man’s attempt at a sardonic retort was promptly aborted as the wind master silenced him with a handful of the sparse coin they had managed to earn over their increasingly long stay in this nowhere village.  _

_ “This can easily be yours if you first, sell me this bag then tell me about the one who gave it to you.” Elizabeth calmly explained her eyes now trained straight ahead at the face of the salesman. _

_ The vendor stared down at the coins shoved against his chest for about half a second before he opened his mouth again. _

_ “He’s just some deadbeat always coming around to harass us vendors to buy his latest mystery item. Anyways, I can’t really describe him too well, just got one of those faces you know. Best thing I can remember is he’s always carrying around this ugly looking flute.” _

_ Oh so that’s what the horrendously painted wooden tube was. _

_ “Did he sell you anything besides the bag!?” Elizabeth more or less demanded with a harsh intake of breath. _

_ “Uh no, not really. He did try to sell me this old looking sword though. Get this he asked for five gold coins for the damn thing. I tried to talk him down ,but he refused to compromise. Said I was missing out on a fortune.Pft, like I hadn’t heard that before.” _

_ “...Do you by any chance know where this man is now?” Jasper couldn’t recall ever seeing the kind of glint that was currently in his master’s azure irises.  _

_ “Well, last I saw him he was heading that way. Probably off to find someone more gullible to scam with that fake a** sword.” The vendor explained with a half hearted point towards the edge of the village where civilization met wilderness. _

_ “....Thank you sir.” Elizabeth blankly aquised after all ,but dumped the coins onto the crooked table and immediately reached for her bag to reunite the dusty strap with her shoulder blade. “Please, keep the change.” _

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_ Jasper and his master were no less than hazy blurs against the green vibrancy of the forest. _

_ Hearts pounding and breaths panted, the pair could have outrun the sun ….and that ….was  _ **_probably_ ** _ the reason they failed to see the object of their pursuit had barely made ten feet inside the forest borders. _

_ With a terrified howl, emanating either from Elizabeth or ‘Adam’ (definitely ‘Adam’) the two humans collided into one another in a heap of no doubt dislocated limbs and tumbled down the bumpy slope of what happened to be a nearby ditch the thief was probably a third of the way done climbing. Sounds of sharp cracks rang out along the way, they could bones or fallen tree branches and Jasper would have been none the wiser. _

_ As they finally reached the very bottom, Jasper watched with wide anxious eyes from atop the forest floor- where he had miraculously been gifted enough traction to stop his own descent into the tumultuous pit -as Elizabeth abruptly shot to her feet and all,but sprinted towards the fallen rucksack the man had been lugging over his shoulder just before the crash. _

_ With one deep inhale of breath the ravenette dove her hand down the smelly bag her lip shut tight with sour disgust as she fished around in it for a few moments until finally her face turned triumphant as she pulled out the vibrant red hilt of  _ **_his_ ** _ sword. _

  
  


_ After taking a moment to make sure the blade inside was intact, Elizabeth breathed a hefty exhale of relief…before turning her attention back onto the scruffy thief sprawled out on the ground like a sacrifice.  _

_ And he might as well have been with the glint Master eyes as a tightly clenched smile broke out across her face like an infection. _

_ “Hello, Adam.” _

_ “Are you insane!” The bandit cried like he hadn’t heard her, his left hand indenting itself against his eyes as he sat up and used his other to grope around his waist till it landed on the ugly flute still strapped to his patchwork pants. _

_ “I swear you better have some good coin buddy otherwise I just might have to rip you a new one-....wait... what did you say?” _

_ The man’s hand suddenly seemed to be shaking as he slowly moved it away from his eyes, granting him the pleasure of witnessing Elizabeth’s barely contained fury head first. _

_ “Oh, sh*t.” _

_ “Oh, sh*t is right you little rat!” The wind master agreed with a crooked grin as she reached out to snatch the torn collar of the man’s shirt between her increasingly white left knuckle. _

_ “Ok,wait-” _

_ “Wait?” Elizabeth laughed. “For what, you to hang me up in another tree for three days?! Or no, wait did you just want to thank your ‘savior’ again.” _

_ Growling in agreement, Jasper carefully crept down the mossy slope until he was once again at ground level with his master, the wolf’s heated gaze never once leaving the cowering thief as the two’s ‘friendly’ conversation continued.  _

_ To the surprise of everyone involved, the bandit actually possessed the audacity to sound annoyed as he shruggingly replied. “Well sorry you elemental ‘masters’ are so easy to fool, hell I’m surprised you can still breath alright up there on your higher than thou pedestal.” _

_ If Master was offended she didn’t show it, instead opting to tighten her grip around the man’s shirt as she brought his face closer to hers.  _

_ “Okay, I’m really getting tired of your useless blabbering, now I’m going to ask you a simple question and you’re going to  _ **_kindly_ ** _ answer me that is of course unless, you want to be food for Jasper.” _

_ Despite his best efforts the wolf struggled to keep his eyes narrow and menacing as he internally whined. He’d eaten actual rats less dirty. _

_ “I-” _

_ “Understood?” Elizabeth asked without really asking as the hand gripping the sword slowly traveled upwards till the hilt was just barely grazing the grime of the young man’s jaw. _

_ With a less than subtle eye roll, the crook curtly nodded. _

_ “Good. Now please tell me how the hell you thought you could sell for my father’s sword….for THREE F**KING GOLD COINS!!!!” _

_ “Huh?” ‘Adam’ looked confused. _

_ “This. sword.” Elizabeth lifted the hilt upwards to face the young man’s dull brown eyes for emphasis. “is worth more THAN  _ **_ANY_ ** _ MONETARY VALUE THE WHOLE OF NINJAGO COULD EVER PRESCRIBE!!! DO YOU EVEN REALIZED WHO THIS BELONGED TO!?” _

_ “Well, for starters I’m guessing your father?”  _

_ “I-” Elizabeth paused, her face momentarily flushing. “Nevermind, you can probably understand only so many words.” The wind master mumbled eliciting a malevolent cackle from ‘Adam’. _

_ “Oh dropping to petty insults are we, that’s not very  _ **_heroic_ ** _ is it?” _

_ Evidently having enough of the man’s venomous words, Elizabeth drew in a sharp breath as she drew a nimble hand towards the bridge of her nose to clench the small amount of free skin as harshly as possible between her rough fingertips.  _

_ “This is stupid.” The wind master said aloud, either to herself or no one or at all. “What am I doing arguing with you, it won’t matter soon anyway.” Elizabeth bluntly stated as she turned her gaze back to the still laughing ‘Adam’. Well at least until he heard that. _

_ “Excuse me?” He blurted out, his voice a fascinating mixture of annoyance and obvious fear. _

_ “What? Did you think I’d just take my father’s sword and be on my way?” Elizabeth asked,her lips quirking upwards obviously trying not to edge into a full blown smirk. _

_ The man grimaced, eyes narrowing. “Okay, what else did you want, your highness?” _

_ Ignoring the spiteful nickname, the wind master waltzed towards the man with relaxed footsteps and reached out to grab his grimy arm. Before the young man could yank it back, Elizabeth was already a step ahead of him-or behind him more accurately, as she twisted his arms to lock behind his back in a vice grip. _

_ “Oh? Didn’t you realize, Adam? Stealing is pretty maligned in these parts of Ninjago.” _

_ “Ah c’mon!” The boy shouted back, once again sounding more displeased than afraid much to Elizabeth and Jasper’s continuous chagrin. “You’ve already got the damn sword back! Can’t we just call it.. even?” _

_ “Even?” Elizabeth blankly echoed, any trace of amusement utterly vanished from her inflection. “Even?” She repeated, her tone darkening by a keen flick of the wrist that had Adam crying out as his arm was twisted with the movement.  _

_ “Trust me until you’ve considered chewing a triple threaded rope in the middle of a f**king thunder storm we are nowhere close to _ **_even_ ** _.” _

_ “Oh…. that really happened? Well sorry, I guess, thought we were in the middle of the dry season.” _

_ Elizabeth might have very well broken both the thief’s arms were it not for a gentle tug from Jasper, pulling her attention towards the increasingly darkening sky. Night was coming and fast, the ditch’s incline was already too hard to make out, amidst the moonless darkness.  _

_ The blue eyed woman spared a brief side eye glance at ‘Adam’ before breathing a quiet sigh and releasing the crook from her clutches. _

_ As the young man stumbled, his limp making the movement twice as awkward and uncoordinated, Elizabeth turned her attention towards the ditch’ steep upward slope. _

_ “Alright, boy looks li-” _

_ “Hey! You’re like the same age as me-” _

_ “Not you, you thieving idiot I was talking to Jasper!” _

_ “Oh…” _

_ “Urgh, anyways boy it looks like I’ll have to use my powers to get us out of here. It’s way too risky to try climbing out of here with how dark it is.” _

_ The Nira wolf’s eyes shot open with the velocity of a grasshopper’s wings as short panicked breaths began escaping his muzzle.  _

_ No, no, no, she couldn’t mea-the only other time Elizabeth had used her powers on him was when he had ‘accidentally’ chased her up a tree during playtime and the then four year old had thought she could simply ease them both to the ground like a fallen leaf. _

_ In short, she could not. _

_ As Jasper found himself in the midst of shuddering at the ancient memory, he had apparently been none too subtle about it because within a fraction of a second, Elizabeth was on her knees before him raising her scraped hands to comb through his fur in a comforting caress. _

_ “Shh, it’s okay boy. It’ll all be alright. I’ve gotten alot better with my powers you know that, it’ll be just fine I promise.” _

_ As much as Jasper wanted with every fiber of his being to trust his master, flying was something he could never find himself comfortable with not in a million yea- _

_ “Uh hey-” _

_ “What?” The ravenette grumbled through gritted teeth, shooting ‘Adam’ a dirty look over her shoulder. _

_ The young man actually looked close to sheepish as he stared down at his own sandalled feet. _

_ “I uh,... have a box of matches in my bag. We can use those to climb out.” _

  
  


**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“Ok, so you caught flute guy then what?”

“Well, we turned him into the village counsel once we got out, then headed back to the inn to get our things packed for leaving next morning…”

_ Elizabeth was quite possibly the definition of satisfied as she and Jasper exited the parameters of the inn and entered into the town center where the oh so appealing sight of their former robber residing bent over in a set of stocks was currently dazzling them and all the other nearby onlookers.  _

_ With a mischievous quirk of one of her thick brows, the wind master casually strolled up to the punished criminal with Jasper trailing not far behind. _

_ “Comfortable?” The ravenette kindly asked, completely unresistant to the alluring temptation to taunt the perpetrator.  _

_ “Oh wow,” ‘Adam’ sardonically gasped. “Say did you spend all night thinking that one up, or did it just come to you?” _

_ “How long?” Elizabeth replied, seemingly unfazed by the sly comment.  _

_ “Eh, three days including nights, plus I’ve been officially banned from stepping foot in this village ever again once my punishment’s done here, so you know not so bad.” The bandit explained, with a limited twirl of his constricted hands. _

_“Hmph, then I_ _guess you can say we’re even now.” The wind master proudly mused with a smug shoulder shrug. “Well it’s been fun you dirty rotten scoundrel ,but unlike I have better things to do than rob people-”_

_ “Like waiting around some random nowhere town for a couple months searching for some guy who took your daddy’s sword?” The young man rudely interrupted,lifting his head slightly to boredly peer up at Elizabeth through his shaggy bangs. _

_ “ _ **_So_ ** _ ,” The blue eyed woman firmly continued with only the slightest pinch of her brows to display her obvious frustration. “Sorry, to cut our reunion short ,but I really must be on my way.” _

_ With that the wind master and her wolf walked away and never saw the man again. Ever. _

_ At least that’s what would have happened were it not for ‘Adam’ replying a bold snort before calling out, “Well that’s nice to hear, and hey better luck with directions this time right?” _

_ Jasper had already strutted a few good steps away from the bound man, before he realized Elizabeth was not ahead of him. _

_ Looking back in confusion, the animal’s already present bewilderment was amplified when he saw a deep frown crease his master’s features as her eyes went unusually wide and pale. _

_ A moment of nothing more than the rowdy bustling of the village and its inhabitants filling the otherwise silent air passed before ‘Adam’ suddenly decided to open his mouth again. _

_ “I mean you could try buying another map at the market ,but judging by your last purchase I’d say that didn’t go too well.” The boy teased with his own lopsided smirk. _

_ “Are you just trying to taunt me?” Elizabeth spat, her tone stiff and serious. _

_ “Well yeah kinda,” ‘Adam’ honestly replied. Before the wind master could dismiss him however he continued, saying “,but also seriously wherever the hell it is you’re going, you ain’t getting there without a guide, because let’s face it your bloodhound’s not exactly been doing the job.” _

_ Jasper growled offense, tempted to go behind the stocks and bite the man’s ankle. _

_ However that train of thought was promptly derailed, as a throaty chortle erupted from Elizabeth’s previous stone faced express.  _

_ “Oh my-no seriously am I hearing this right?” The ravenette asked not bothering to wait for an answer before continuing. “Are you- the man who left me hung up in a damn tree for three days- actually about to offer to be my  _ **_guide_ ** ?”

_ “Laugh all you want ,but I’m serious.” ‘Adam’ rebutted, unaffected and obviously unsurprised by the blue eyed woman’s response. “No one knows Ninjago better than I do. How long do you think I’ve been doing this sort of thing?” He asked, obviously referring to the whole robbing people sideshow he had been running. “Trust me, this ain’t even the first village I’ve been banned from.” The crook added like it was an achievement. _

_ “And may I ask,  _ **_why_ ** _ I should trust you to actually navigate instead of, you know stealing from me  _ **_again_ ** _.” Elizabeth asked with a less than subtle tone of disbelieving annoyance. _

_ “Well..” The young man drawled. “Since someone here has kinda shut down my latest immoral business practices, I think it’s only fair that I kindly repay them by doing them this kind service for…... let’s say ten silver.” _

_ Elizabeth’s palm smashed into her face so hard, Jasper was almost afraid she hurt herself. _

_ “Are you kidding-No!” _

_ “Nine-” _

_ “I only have five-” _

  
  


_ “Okay, then give me four and we’ll call it even.” The thief stretched his hands as far as his wooden restraints would allow in a mock attempt at a handshake. _

_ “First off three, not a cent more and second you don’t even know where I’m going.” The green banged woman logically pointed out. _

_ “Is it in NInjago?”  _

_ “Yes, but-” _

_ “Then it’s settled, I should be able to get you there in probably no less than a few months -definitely no longer than a year I promise-so what do you say?” _

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Morro’s gaze could have bored a hole through Jasper’s head.

“Tell me you didn’t-”

“We did. Look there was no one else in the village who-”

“I can’t believe you two were that gullible-”

“Can I continue or not?!”

“Guys, let’s just calm dow-”

“Alright fine wolfman by all means,  _ go ahead _ .”

“ _ Thanks _ , okay so after his three days were up, we hit the uh forest and started our journey....”

_ “Adam where are-” _

_ “Oh yeah, by the way, my name's not Adam.” _

_ Elizabeth snorted like the statement was a joke as she patiently walked beside the limping man. _

_ “Why does that not surprise me.” _

_ “What? Like you would give your real name to the person you just robbed?” _

_ “I would never rob someone to begin with, I’m-” _

_ “A righteous elemental master and you’re supposed to protect the weak or some s**t yeah yeah I know.” The bandit interrupted like he had already heard the statement a dozen times. “Anyways my point is, I’d like you to stop calling me that, messes with my head you know.” _

_ “Then what  _ **_should_ ** _ I call you?” Elizabeth retorted with narrowed eyes.  _

_ “Well real name’s Terrance.” _

_ “Terrance.” The wind master repeated like the name felt foriegn on her tongue. “Alright then, Terrance do you actually want to know where we’re trying to go to, or can you just sense my desired location with that amazing intellect of yours?” _

_ “Wow, harsh today aren’t we?” Terrance replied, one of his less impressive comebacks in Jasper’s nonhuman opinion. “Well, since you’re so eager why don’t you go ahead and tell me the name of the location and I’ll tell you how close we are?” _

_ Elizabeth hesitated, looking down to study the above tree roots cropping her path rather than making eye contact.  _

_ “Well It’s not really spoken of much, all I know is.....it’s called the Stone Miasma.” _

_ “Hmph,......yeah never heard of it.” The flute toting man shrugged, spurring a deep flush of crimson to swell beneath Elizabeth’s once pale skin. _

_ “You said-” _

_ “Yeah and I meant it,” Terrance weakly defended, increasing his pace despite the impediment of his limp. “I’ll be able to find that place no problem….just first I’ll have to do some _ **_research_ ** _.” _

_ “Research?” The ravenette annoyedly parroted. “And may I ask where you plan on doing this research?” _

_ “Well, obviously if we’re looking for a place no one’s heard of then trust me the place to go is that Library of Domo or whatever it’s called. You know what I’m talking about? ” _

_ “I do, and it’s pronounced Domu.” The wind master generously corrected. _

_ “ Yeah that place, we just gotta head over there and look at some books and-” _

_ “Do you really think I haven’t tried that already?” Elizabeth argued. “I’ve looked at just about all their books on Ninjago landscape and there’s nothing-” _

_ “Well, you just weren’t looking in the right places.” Terrance shot back with another cheeky smirk. “ Don’t worry, I’ve got this old friend of mine, Joanna cool lady said she’s trying this whole rehabilitation thing by becoming a monk or whatever, anyway she’d be thrilled to escort us into the more shall we say restricted areas to find that place you’re talking about.” _

_ Elizabeth blanched, looking utterly appalled. “What if we got caught?!” _

_“We won’t_ _trust me. I've done this plenty of times before and in any case this really is your only option. If you couldn’t find any information on this place from that library then the only other place it could be-if it exists at all- would be with her.”_

_ The blue eyed woman’s eyes seemed askance as her gaze darted back towards the ground whilst her fists continuously clenched and unclenched. She was conflicted. _

_ “Alright Terrance against my better judgement, I’ll trust you.” _

_ “Great shouldn’t takes us more than about a week to get -” _

_ “Oh and by the way if I come to regret trusting you,” Elizabeth paused to grasp the limping boy’s shoulder, stopping them both in their tracks. “ from any means then,...well let’s just say that fake screaming you did those months back will be nothing compared to the sounds you’ll make by my hand…..got it?” _

_ Terrance might’ve been trembling like a lost puppy on the inside, but all he allowed his latest travel companions the satisfaction of seeing was a brief sigh followed by a closed eye grin. _

_ “Don’t worry you won’t be disappointed.” _

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_ Jasper was surprised they stopped to make camp so early. _

_ It was barely dark yet and here they were, Terrance crouched over a pile of sticks as his hands shakily lit a match. _

_ “I’m surprised they let you keep those.” Elizabeth pointed out from her spot on a nearby log, where Jasper lay just below poutingly resting his muzzle against her crossed ankles. _

_ “Who? The jailers?”  _

_ “Yes.”  _

_ “Urgh don’t get me started. I was lucky to keep these good things. It's hard to prove something is stolen when your name’s on it” The brunette explained, gesturing towards the letters carved into the box spelling out his name.  _

_ Once Terrance managed to keep a steady flame (after at least four unsuccessful attempts) he gently tossed the match box into a pile consisting of his empty green rucksack and his ever present flute. _

_ Elizabeth’s eyes followed and for a brief moment the pale skinned woman’s eyes refused to tear themselves away from the offensively ugly instrument.  _

_ Without meaning to-Jasper was certain of that-the ravenette suddenly asked, “Do you play?” _

_ “No.” Terrance tersely replied, his gaze never leaving the growing flame that had now grown to illuminate his face beyond the grime covering it, to showcase the obvious bags weighing his eyes down like bricks. _

_ “Then wh-” _

_ “Well, I’m starving.” The young man abruptly blurted out like it was urgent information. _

_ Elizabeth slightly confused by the sudden interruption took a moment collect her senses, and in between that brief period Terrance had apparently found it suitable to get up turn over a nearby rock and proceed to begin plucking out a handful of various insects before then popping them into his mouth- _

_ “What are you doing!” Elizabeth yelled, broken from her reverie by the troubling display. _

_ “Huh?” Terrance said around a mouthful of what was probably beetle. “Oh, did you wanth thome?” The young man asked, grasping another handful of the squirming bugs and attempting to offer them to Elizabeth. _

_ In response the ravenette looking rightfully horrified slapped the insects from Terrance’s hand. _

_ “Hey!” _

_ “Do you even realize how many diseas- they haven’t even been cooked!” The blue eyed woman screamed, her agitation clearly at its peek. “Oh my- is  _ **_this_ ** _ the reason you wanted to stop so early, so you could find some f**king bugs!” _

_ “Well,” Terrance paused to swallow. “My  _ **_apologies_ ** _ your highness ,but they don’t exactly like to feed prisoners at the stocks so excuse me if I’m a little hungry after going three days-” _

_ “Urgh you are so unfathomably disg-Wait, what?!” The green banged woman looked at him with disbelief. “They didn’t give you... _ **_anything_ ** _?!” _

_ “Well, water occasionally ,but other than that no. Wanted to teach me a lesson you know.” _

_ “I..” Elizabeth trailed off as if lost in her own head, whilst her gaze turned concerned. Jasper found himself sharing the sentiment. He could understand very few human problems ,but going without food was something just about every creature in Ninjago could share a disdain for. Even when they were up in the tree, Elizabeth at least some emergency bread and water stashed within the pockets of her gi. Jasper almost couldn’t help ,but wonder if Terance had known that. _

_ For a moment under a tense blanket of silence the three simply sat around the fire watching one other’s every movement. Then without a word, Elizabeth sprang to her feet and all ,but marched over towards her discarded bag.  _

_ In a flurry of movement, the ravenette quickly shuffled around inside or less than a second before yanking out a leftover loaf of bread and cheese the innkeeper had graciously gifted her before they left. _

_ Ripping the large loaf into three large scraps and tearing off another three huge chunks of cheese, Elizabeth practically threw a piece of each towards Jasper and Terrance offering them both no more than a gruff “Eat.” before devouring her own massive slices in no more than a few bites. _

_ Terance meanwhile simply stared at her from across the camp- whether in awe or some other complicated human emotion Jasper was unsure -before shrugging and taking a surprising tentative bite of his own. _

_ Maybe he was afraid it was poisoned. _

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_ That night as the fire eventually died away and Elizabeth gradually let her eyes slip close with the expected knowledge that Jasper would of course be awake to watch over her, the wolf couldn’t help but feel strange having spent so many nights alone with her only to now have an unhygienic thief lay just a few feet away, awake as the surrounding fireflies. _

_ To say the wolf’s defensives were up was quite literally the understatement of ever. _

_ Every movement that Jasper could catch from his peripherals as he sat over his master’s body, was rewarded with a resounding growl threatening violent action at the slightest suspicion. _

_ “Don’t worry mutt.” Terance replied with a yawn. “I ain’t gonna try anything. I've As it were  _ **_learned my lesson_ ** _.” _

_ Jasper growled harder still, unconvinced. _

_ Terance arched a brow as if confused. “You still mad about the tree incident.” _

_ The wolf hoped his unimpressed sapphire orbs were enough to communicate that yes he was. _

_ “Well, I know this might not make it up to you completely ,but” The thief paused to retrieve something from his pocket.  _

_ Jasper recoiled as the young man sat up and brought his filthy closed fist towards him. He only ceased his panic, when Terance’s hand opened to reveal an almost microscopic piece of worn rabbit jerky that looked possibly staler than his clothes.  _

_ “Here, you can have it.” The criminal offered. _

_ Jasper paused to consider if perhaps this was another trick…...for all of two seconds before grumpily snatching the jerky from his hand just like before. _

_ Surprisingly enough, the wolf felt no immediate consequences for his consumption so for now he assumed he was safe. _

_ “Is it good?” Terance quietly asked, an almost playful smile present on his otherwise shadowed features. _

_ Not bothering to answer Jasper simply turned his gaze back to Elizabeth. _

_ He didn’t growl for the rest of the night. _

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“So like Terance said about a week later we were finally pretty close to reaching the library, only about a day away....”

_ Jasper had never seen Elizabeth look so pleased to see water in all her life. _

_ There before the three man- well one man, a woman, and wolf- band lay a quaint stream at most likely at least seven feet deep, maybe eight with a thin yet powerful waterfall cascading earthy liquid at every creature lucky enough to be within its proximity. _

_ Master wasted no time discarding her shoes and gi, leaving only her oversized undershirt and shorts remaining before diving into the crystal clear stream water like a man on fire. _

_ “Finally!” Elizabeth called out once she rose up from beneath the gentle tide. “I thought I’d never get a chance to clean up before we made it to the library.” _

_ Jasper was inclined to agree as he gently eased himself into the water from the bank. He hated getting wet possibly more than any other creature alive ,but he hated his coat getting musty even more.  _

_ As the wolf mindlessly floated for a moment before paddling towards his owner, he suddenly found himself looking back to Terance who stared at the two amused, but unmoving. _

_ “Well have fun! I’m gonna go and-” _

_ “Aren’t you gonna come in!” The wind master shouted as she gracefully swam toward the bank housing the bandit with Jasper not far behind. _

_ “No, I prefer dry land.” Terance explained like it was obvious. _

_ “But-” _

_ “Sorry nope. No can do.” The young man said, shaking his head, almost sounding defensive(?). _

_ Elizabeth 's suddenly narrowed as if she had been told he preferred not breathing. _

_ “Yeah so-” _

_ “No.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “No. I’ve had to live with your smell day and night for a week now, I’m not about to let you drag that into Domu as well.” The ravenette promptly decided as she rose to her feet and stumbled onto the mossy bank. _

_ “Okay first hurtful, second, it’s a _ **_library_ ** _ it probably already smells like old people right? I don’t think I’ll make that much of a differe-” _

_ “Don’t care.” The green banged woman earnestly replied (the same mischievous glint present in her eyes from back at the stocks) as she reached out to grasp the young man’s arm. _

_ Terance retaliated with a clumsy backward dash that in the end proved pointless when Elizabeth simply elicited a strong gust of wind from her palms to just push him back towards her. _

_ As the limping bandit predictably came crashing against her, he evidently realized the inevitable outcome of the situation when the ravenette gripped the back of his arms and began tugging him toward the water. _

_ “Wait, no! C’mon what have I done to you?! I mean besides the tree thing!” _

_ Elizabeth actually began to giggle as both they’re bare feet touched the water. Terance’s reaction was a tad more extreme, with the thief going as far to let out a shrill eep and begin his pointless struggles anew calling out to any and everything within reach to come and save him. _

_ Even Jasper. _

_ “Hey mutt, why don’t you come and help me out here! Mutt! I’ll buy you more jerky if you want!” The young thief screamed towards, Jasper who had just finished shaking his fur dry before casually sprawling out across the bank. _

_ Sorry human, but Jasper knew better than to go against his master’s wishes. _

_ Elizabeth let another chortle of laughter at the navigator’s desperation before simply letting them both fall back first into the stream’s deep waters. _

_ Terance came up spluttering like a stray cat, predictable ripples of dirt and grime surrounding his now soaking body like a ring.  _

_ ‘You little-”  _

_ “Hold still.” Elizabeth commanded dunking the thief’s head underwater long enough for her to produce a tiny soaked bag of soap wax from her bodice and pour the contents all over her and the enraged thief, only letting the poor human up to breath so she could get a better handle on his hair to scrub. _

**_ForgottenFamily_ ** __

_ It was nightfall by the time the wind master had finished the herculean task of effectively cleaning Terance. _

_ Jasper was downright shocked by the transformation. _

_ There was just enough facial detail to support the fact that this was in fact the once filthy bandit and that was about it. _

_ The man’s skin now resembled a healthy tan that was only stained ,by the few and far between scars adorning mainly his palms and ankles. His hair, though still messy beyond hope of fixing, looked much better under the scrutiny of firelight, the actual color even lightening to a very dirty blonde.  _

_ “See,” Elizabeth called out, tossing the sulking man a towel. “Was that so,” _

_ “Never do that again.” _

_ The blue eyed woman seemed to struggle holding in a another bout of laughter, instead having to settle for a sly grin. “ It’s just water you know.” _

_ “Yeah whatever.” Terance gruffly replied. “How long exactly till my clothes are supposed to dry.” _

_ “Probably an hour.” Elizabeth shrugged sitting closer to the bright fire of their makeshift camp. _

_ “Great.” The young man groaned. “Well, we’ve already eaten and I can’t sleep in wet clothes….you wanna just, talk.” _

_ Again the ravenette shrugged. “Sure, why not.” _

_ “Alright then,” The guide paused awkwardly. “So, what exactly are you hoping to find in this Bones Miasma place?” _

_ The blue eyed woman shifted, as if at unease. Jasper got up to curl around her. _

_ “Something …….to give me more power.” _

_ “Power? Why do you seem to have a lot already? Don’t know if I want to live in a world where you have even more.” _

_ “Don’t worry.” Elizabeth reassured as she continued to watch the dancing flames. “I won’t use it against you.” _

_ “Oh, then just everyone else?” Terance heartily laughed, though Jasper could see the slight tremble in his hands. _

_ “No.” The elemental recanted blankly. “I would never-It would be just one person in particular actually.” _

_ “Oh yeah and who’s that?”  _

_ “The man who killed my father.” _

_ “Oh….” Terance trailed off looking close to lost and obviously tempted to drop the subject. He didn’t.  _

_ “You gonna..kill him, it is a him right?” _

_ “Yes.” The green banged woman replied without a moment’s hesitation. _

_ “To which?” _

_ “Both.” _

_ “Ah….do you uh….do you know him? What his name is and all that?” The young man persisted, bordering on the edge of invasive, however much to the surprise of both present male parties, Elizabeth didn’t reward the question with so much as a bitter retort, instead chuckling like Terance had just told her the funniest joke. _

_ “I don’t think anyone knows his real name, not even his face just…. his title.” _

_ “Oh and uh,why..why’s that?” Terance asked, unwilling to relent for some strange reason. Maybe it was simply fascination, Jasper hadn’t the slightest clue. _

_ “Because he’s the first spinjitzu master. _


	34. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning!!!! Violent imagery in this chapter as well as some minor gore and blood. Just be careful if you get extra uncomfortable by that stuff, oh also there will be some heavy subject matter in this chapter as well, just be prepared.

“.....WHAT?!” Morro and Lloyd shouted in unison as they stared in perplexity at the former wolf. 

Jasper might’ve felt the urge to flinch were it not for the extensive experience he possessed dealing with the loud obnoxious children of this ever expanding bloodline. 

He did however, feel the need to tense his shoulders slightly upon the critical glare Morro immediately shot his way, like he had just been told a very very bad joke.

“So, you’re saying my mom wanted to murder the first spinjitzu master.”

The fellow ravenette frowned sucking in a deep breath as he stared down at his slightly more neon counterpart.

“Yeah.” Jasper said, not really knowing how else to explain.

Morro’s scrutinizing stare lingered on the rookie human for a moment longer before they returned to the insides of his eyelids as he slid them shut and reached up to pinch at the miniscule space left bare between his brows. 

The wind master sighed. “Alright, proceed.”

“Wait!” Lloyd abruptly interjected. “Are we really just gonna skim over thi….”

The blonde trailed off as Morro looked over his shoulder at him with what must have been a pretty disheartening glare if Jasper were to guess.

Looking back at the taller male, the wind master gave a curt nod, most definitely signaling permission to continue, or at least that’s what Jasper assumed it was.

“Alright so back to the story…”

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_“.......WHAT!?!” Terance bellowed out with the force of a Banshee as he shot to his feet only to stumble onto the moist grass again as he staggered backwards onto his towel as it fell from his shoulders behind him._

_Elizabeth remained staring at the fire._

_“Are you serious?! We’re talking about the same first spinjitzu master here right?! You know the one who’s kinda the most powerful being in all of Ninjago!!”_

_“He_ **_killed_ ** _my father. I’m going to avenge him.” Elizabeth stated matter of factly._

_“Do you realize how insane you sound?!” Terance all ,but shrieked. “The first spinjitzu master doesn’t kill people! Even someone as f**ked in the head as me knows that!”_

_Jasper watched with bemused eyes as his master snorted in response._

_“Shows what you know.”_

_“Ok I knew you elemental’s were on a pretty high pedestal ,but I didn’t think it was so high you literally couldn’t get enough air flow to your f**king brain! I mean seriously, the first. Spinjitzu. Master. The literal guy who created all of Ninjago and you want to just kill him!”_

_“Is that what you’ve been taught?”_

_“Lady the only thing I’ve ever been taught is how to pick a lock in the dark with just a nail and the stem of a tea leaf._ **_This_ ** _is f**king ingrained, common knowledge.”_

_Elizabeth’s features tightened momentarily as did her grip on the edges of her towel._

_“So we’re all supposed to believe that just one man, one mortal man created, everything and before him there was just….. nothing?” The green banged woman rhetorically asked with a heated glare shot at the befuddled bandit._

_“Uh yeah pretty much. What? Got a better theory?” The young man prompted, now sounding strangely calmer like their argument had just magically transformed into a light hearted discussion over the best tea brewing method._

_Again, Elizabeth laughed with no humor to be found anywhere. “I don’t need a theory I know the whole story.”_

_“Really?” Terance asked, sounding more doubtful than genuinely curious. “Well then by all means, enlighten me.” The limping thief challenged as he retrieved his towel from the ground and returned to his spot next to her._

_Elizabeth rolled her eyes, shaking her head with a pronounced sense of a what could have been interpreted as melancholy._

_“It doesn’t matter. You’d never believe me. No one ever has.” The ravenette paused to look back out at the water like she was secretly considering diving back in. “My aunt’s the only one alive who knows besides me anyway.”_

_“Oh? She crazy as well?.”_

_For some inexplicable reason Terance’s clothes were suddenly dry, most likely due to the fact he was then hit by a mysteriously powerful gust of wind that sent him flying backwards into the nearest tree._

_Elizabeth smirked at the agitated frown etched into the young robber’s features as he eventually found the strength to walk back over and sit down._

_“That was unnecessary.” He lazily mumbled as he haphazardly threw a nearby stick into the sweltering fire._

_“Sorry, must be my crazy tendencies.” The ravenette cheekily replied causing the young man to narrow his eyes as he huffed a breath sigh in annoyance slightly offset by the soft chuckle that followed._

_“No, but seriously go on, tell me how this, ” Terance paused to swing his arms outward in an expressive gesture towards their surroundings. “_ **_really_ ** _came to be.”_

_Even at Elizabeth’s determined nodd of refusal, the dirty blonde persisted. “C’mon, what have you got to lose, you already know I think you’re insane, as far as I see it you can only seem less crazy from here.”_

_The wind master guffawed at the man’s inability to relent. Jasper was inclined to do so as well were it not for the fact he wasn’t human._

_“Really insistent aren’t you?”_

_“What can I say, I like getting to know people.”_

_“Oh yes your social skills are phenomenal,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes before momentarily turning back to Terance and looking up to meet his gaze, almost timidly._

_“I- Alright, fine.” The ravenette reluctantly conceded. “But you make any more unfunny jokes and you’ll be sent flying through the tree this time, capish?”_

_“Well, no promi-I mean yes.” Terance hastily accused upon Elizabeth’s unsightly growl._

_“Very well,” The green banged woman began. “It all started in the realm of Dragon and Oni.”_

_“Oh we talking in iambic pentameter now, also what’s an on-iiiurrgh!” Terance keened as a pointed elbow was shoved against his lower abdomen with the force of a crossbow._

_“No interruptions.” Elizabeth commanded “In this realm, war was a constant. Oni hunted the Dragons for everything whether it be food or the skin off their bones to make clothes and the dragons...well they fought back_ **_without_ ** _mercy.”_

_In that moment, Jasper no longer saw his master sitting on that dingy log in front of the flickering flames ,but rather another woman who’d once told the exact same story to her daughter as she sat on the edge of her bed under the glow of moonlight. A woman whose pale face and dull dying eyes he saw every time he closed his eyes. Jasper didn’t like to sleep much._

_“It went on like this for a_ **_very_ ** _long time and no one ever believed there would be peace…..,but” Elizabeth smiled, breaking her gaze away from Terance to look up at the pitch black sky. The ravenette never was good at keeping her eyes on the same thing for long. “Then, the unthinkable happened.”_

_“What was it?” The thief hesitantly asked, already flinching in expectation of punishment._

_The wind master did not move. “An oni and a dragon,_ **_supposedly_ ** _….fell in love, and had two children. Both sons. Both outcasts among either kind.”_

_Jasper’s jaw tightened as his eyes struggled to remain open. No, he...he didn’t want to see_ **_her_ ** _like that again. Not right now._

_“The oni who gave birth to them, she was of a noble family within the oni society and so naturally when everyone had found out what she had done, they considered it the biggest disgrace ever committed so they believed the only way for her to atone for this was to either kill the boys herself or…._ **_burn_ ** _.”_

_Terance swallowed. “I’m gonna hazard a guess that she didn’t go with the former?”_

_Elizabeth shook her head. “She didn’t. However she knew even with her death the oni would never be satisfied until her two sons' ashes lay in the dirt along with hers, so she entrusted their safety into the hands of one of her knights, and that knight rescued the children in the dead of night just before her execution and together they escaped into the mountains.”_

_“Sorry if this counts as interrupting,but why didn’t big daddy dragon step in to help?”_

_Jasper could distinctly remember a time when Elizabeth had asked the same from Greta. The tea collector had looked at her with the same unknowing, askance glances, offering the young girl only “It’s a truth only that soul can know, the rest of us will just have to sit and speculate for the rest of time, hoping we were at least somewhat close to the reality.” only….she hadn’t been talking about some mystical dragon creature, She’d been talking about_ **_him_ ** _._

_The ravenette’s gaze hardened, but she shrugged all the same. “No one knows.”_

_Terance hummed._

_“Anyway w-where was I...oh yes, the two boys spent the rest of their childhood in that wilderness, their only companion each other and their mother’s knight. The knight taught the boys how to hunt, and how to fight, to_ **_hide_ ** _.”_

_Elizabeth’s gaze traveled toward the sheathed sword laying aside Terance's amidst a nearby outcrop of pebbles and stones against the lonely stream bank._

_“He even, gave the eldest his prized sword. Told him to protect_ **_his_ ** _family with it.”_

_Elizabeth’s azure irises seemed to darken under the glow of the feigning fire. “So in return the eldest swore an oath that he would do exactly that, at_ **_all_ ** _costs.”_

_Terance’s jaw tightened as his eyes clouded over in what seemed to be a strange haze of confusion, like the ravenette’s words had somehow been spoken off a foreign tongue._

_“Years later the knight passed away and the two sons were left to fend for themselves against the two warring sides. The eldest, he knew they had to find a way to leave, to find a place where they could be free ,but they had no idea where to go….until, the eldest discovered a power within, a power that allowed him to transcend the barriers between realms and carry him and his brother far,far away to a new tomorrow.”_

_Terance looked ready to interject again, probably with another underhanded comment ,but before he could be allowed to, Elizabeth had already sewed his mouth shut with a mindless crack of her knuckles._

_“The place they landed in, was unlike anything they had ever seen. A land completely covered in darkness.”_

_Jasper’s mouth was beginning to feel dry as a thousand memories of nothing more than the glow of his sapphires able to light the environment around him flooded his brain like an inescapable smoke. Whispers emitted from the soft, fragile voice of a child he had long since trained his ears to forget came creeping back with the renewed vigour of an invasive ivy._

_‘Hello there, w-where’s your pack, are you lost pup?’_

_“And all the creatures who lived there, spent their whole lives running.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Shh, I was just getting there.” Elizabeth snapped, her voice breaking Jasper from his reveries like a stone against the ceramic fragility of teapot. “From...a sickness. An entity void of all warmth, and light. They began calling him the overlord, because his essence spread all over the land with no restraint or relinquishment, that is until the two brothers fell from their sky.”_

_Terance’s eyebrows gradually shot to the top of his forehead till they were just on the verge of receding into his sloppily cut hair line._

_“Though the people of the realm were all very….cautious,” That was putting it lightly. Jasper could still taste the texture of the_ **_brothers’_ ** _pant legs in his mouth when he had tackled them both to the ground in ‘self defense’. “of these new strange brothers at first, they soon realized that for once in their life they actually had a chance, to fight back against the overlord.”_

_The thief’s head tilted in what could only be described as mock skepticism._

_Jasper though annoyed, was too tired to growl._

_“The people entrusted their future in the hopes that the brother’s power would somehow be enough to end this once and for all. The brothers trained endlessly in preparation for the battle they were thrust into, and despite all the hardship going on around them they promised each other to always be by the other’s side...however things never exactly go as planned.”_

_Immediately the image of..._ **_her_ ** _once again flashed within the wolf’s mind. Only now_ **_he_ ** _was there too, lying unconscious on a bed made of soil and hay whilst she leaned over his prone body, desperately applying whatever mud and healing leaves to the crimson seeping out of the cuts and scrapes on his arms and wrists,all the while his breath a rampant crescendo of short panted gasps that may have spilled out of_ **_her_ ** _as well were it not for the determined look in her eye anchoring her to her place beside him, even as_ **_his_ ** _hands shakily reached out for her and called her name out like a dying snake,_ **_“T-tera..Tera..”_ **

_“The eldest, he...in his first encounter with the Overlord, it tried to force him to use his power, so that the disease of darkness could spread beyond just that one realm. However the eldest refused and as a result...the Overlord tore his arms to shreds with a single blow. It was so powerful, that the older brother fell into a deep coma-like state and as a result the younger brother was left alone to face the Overlord and all hope seemed lost ,but then.”_

_“he fought this overlord guy, won, and all of Ninjag-I’m sorry this ‘mysterious realm’ was saved and his older brother got over himself and woke up sometime later?”_

_“I-What did I just sa-” Elizabeth's face and knuckles contorted into a bright red that rivaled the tips of the flames' currently casting their stark orange glow upon her constricted features._

_To most likely halt her hands from attempting to strangle the stupid human, the ravenette inhaled a sharp breath before blowing it back out with an equally strong exhale that threatened to damaged the already dwindling campfire._

_“That’s always the best part.” The green banged woman mumbled glumly, as her shoulders slumped under the weight of disappointment. “Yes, thief that’s exactly what happened.” Elizabeth sighed. “But that’s not where the story ends I’m afraid. See, the younger brother couldn’t completely defeat the Overlord.”_

_“Oh, plot twist?”_

_“Shut up, anyway so their only option was to split the land in two and send the Overlord far out to sea with the separated half.”_

_“Sound plan.”_

_“So despite the celebrations and rejoicement at finally liberating their new home that they named Ninjago, the brothers knew they needed more than just themselves to protect Ninjago so they devised a plan to share their power. More specifically their elements.”_

_“Riiggghhht.”_

_Ignoring Terance, Elizabeth went on. “They selected the finest warriors who aided them in the war against the overlord and gifted them each an element,_ **_including_ ** _a healer whose wild spirit had caught the ire of the eldest brother.” Elizabeth paused, to smile. Her azure orbs softly rounded with contentment. “In return for her love he promised to gift her the wind, she refused telling him she’d only accept if he granted her his love in return.”_

_Terance looked ready to barth, and for once Jasper was inclined to agree._

_“So, they soon married and, from their love a little girl was born, and not far after a little boy.”_

_“Riveting stuff.” The young man joked, causing Jasper to let out a muffled snarl. “but,...I’m gonna take another guess and predict there’s not a happy ending here.”_

_Elizabeth left the annoying comment unchastised as she reached out a summoned a gust of wind to carry her father’s sword towards her grasp._

_“No, there isn’t. Despite all the calm, happiness surrounding them both, the younger brother couldn’t help ,but fear. Fear that his brother’s realm traveling could be taken advantage of again, so he kindly asked that his older brother relinquish his power into a stone, telling him that he would keep it hidden from all of Ninjago in order to protect everyone’s from its power and that was that….however not long after….tragedy struck the family. The eldest’s wife...died, from fever.” Elizabeth’s lips turned downwards, as her hands tightened on the hilt of the sheathed sword. “ and she was bed ridden for the last few months of her life.” The ravenette breathed out with a barely audible stutter._

  
  


_For the first time that night Terance’s face was devoid of all traces of humor and skepticism and a that moment Jasper realized through his haze of exhaustion, she’d never discussed this with anyone. Not even Greta._

_“The last thing she asked of her husband was to protect their family so once again the eldest promised to do exactly that at_ **_any_ ** _cost.”_

_“However, unfortunately fate took a dark turn and…..he was never able to fulfill that promise ,because….he was betrayed, by his own brother and killed in the dead of night over a f**king argument.”_

_“and...what happened to the daughter and son?” The bandit hesitantly asked._

_Elizabeth puffed her cheeks out, as her own eyebrows raised, like the whole thing was suddenly funny to only her. “The little girl was sent to live with her aunt, and the boy...was probably left for dead along with him.” The wind seemed to pick up._

_“So, you’re definitely that little girl right?’ The young man assumed, with an aborted attempt at lightening the mood with a soft elbow nudge. Elizabeth remained silent, simply getting to her feet as she quietly lifted the sword up for unneeded inspection._

_“This is the only thing that b*****d of a spinjitzu master brought back of my father that night.” The wind master explained unsheathing the blade with an experimental air stab. “If the first spinjitzu didn’t kill my father then I don’t know who else could.”_

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“Next morning,we finally reached the library and after hours of sitting in a hot underground storage labyrinth we finally found something that we thought could possibly be a map to the Bone Miasma.”

“So we’re really going to gloss over-”

“AFTER THAT....”

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Jasper’s eyes couldn’t and wouldn’t leave the dusty, grease stained parchment paper cradled in the crook Elizabeth’s cloaked arms._

_Finally._

_They had searched and searched and now….._

_they were actually going to find it!_

_Terance, obnoxious nuisance as per usual, was quick to peer over the shoulder of his annoyed travel mate, right after he had just waved goodbye to the cigar wielding monk woman tossing them an unbothered glance on their way out the library’s gate._

_“Ok so looks like we’ll need to head North-”_

_“Excuse me,_ **_we_ ** _?” Elizabeth retorted with a confused frown as she quickly side stepped in order to easily maneuver herself away from the taller man. “What part of, here’s your coin once I find what I’m looking for you can see yourself out, did not understand.”_

_“My job’s not done here.” Terance shot back with a strange ease. “There’s no way you know how to navigate, I mean look what happened the last time you did that, plus you still owe me for those two silvers I had to slip dear sweet Beatrice to let us in.”_

_Elizabeth’s frown turned sour. “It’s_ **_not_ ** _my fault you’re not as chummy with your good old friend as you thought you were, and also I know how to read a map just fine thank you very much.”_

_Terance snorted whilst cocking an eyebrow, looking very unready to relent. “Yeah you know how to read a map alright, toddlers can do that, but what you don’t know is how to apply the directions to your surroundings, that my air headed friend is something only a natural born navigator like yours truly can do.”_

_Before Elizabeth could roll her eyes, the young man continued. “Of course that is your decision, just...remember to scream really loud when you inevitably get lost again.”_

_“That was the bloody map’s fau-.....” Elizabeth’s fists clenched as she looked towards the ground in anger. A tense moment of silence passed before the ravenette finally looked back up, her anger still very much present ,but at least this time more restrained._

_“Fine, but you’re carrying my bag.” The wind master commanded as she walked past the man and dumped her satchel into his palms. Her father’s sword wisely strapped to her belt this time. Before the limping boy could argue, the ravenette shot him a baleful look from over the shoulder. “After all, I know how much you love doing that.”_

_With that, the wind master, the thief, and the wolf were waltzing back out into the wilderness._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Jasper was beginning to notice things._

_Specifically things about Terance._

_Mainly the fact that the man was full of contradictions._

  
  


_He never once played a note, or some much as touched his lips to the mouth of that ugly flute, and yet he refused to ever allow it out of his sight, even on the rare occasion they managed to stumble across a river to bath in, the thief always made sure to place it on the nearest dry stone outcropping from the water before Elizabeth dragged him into it’s icy cold depths like that of a sea monster from legend._

_He never seemed to spend much money, not even on food, but was still always on the lookout for spare coin, going as far as to stick a hand down at the closest sewage grate and dig around for loose change._

_He limped whenever he walked and yet, the second he was bombarded in some random village they happened to be passing through, he’d be the first to spew belligerent demands to fight._

_Jasper never much understood humans, but this human was really,truly beginning to puzzle him just slightly above the rest._

_Master must have shared the same bewilderment because one day, out of nowhere as they treded a random path through the woods, still hundreds of miles upon miles from their destination, she decided to randomly blurt out._

_“Does it hurt?”_

_“Huh?” Terance hummed, looking back as he shifted the combined weight of his empty green sack and Elizabeth’s barely half way full satchel across both his shoulders. “Does what hurt?”_

_“Your,” The wind master hesitated, looking close to guilty. “Your leg, the left one does it hurt, if...if it does I could always carry the bags.”_

_“Nah.” The guide waved off. “It’s fine, just how I walk you know.”_

_“Oh,” The green banged woman trailed off and Jasper was close to assuming this is where the conversation had died….,but then Elizabeth for some astonishing reason sought the need to press on, with a strange nervous stutter. “Were you b-Actually nevermind I shouldn’t-”_

_“Was I born with it?” Terance asked, repeating the nonverbal query. At the ravenette’s slow shameful nodd, the young man chuckled. “No, actually. I used to walk pretty normal, well before the accident.”_

_“Accident?” Master echoed, her features suddenly drained of color._

_“Yeah,” The navigator sighed. “Was pretty horrific you know, blood everywhere, think there might’ve been a bone sticking out ,but ah who cares to remember anyway that’s how I promised myself to be more careful around jackhammers from now on.”_

_The wind master’s eyes widened to the size of noodle plates, as she began spluttering an apology._

_Then Terance laughed._

_“Sh*t, you really are that gullibl-” Before the bandit could finish his confession, he was promptly sent flying into another tree._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_The next village they happened to pass through, was a blessing in all shapes and forms. The pitter patter of the rain crescendoed with the trio’s each passing step until finally they arrived, soaked from head to toe at the front door of the nearest inn they could afford._

_Jasper was barely able to stumble his way past the threshold of their drafty accommodations ,however that did not stop him from immediately claiming the left twin bed as his own the second the stupid human bandit managed to get the key to work._

_Terance frowned as he turned to stare at Master Elizabeth who’d already proceeded to all ,but throw her body onto her bed completely oblivious to his questioning stare._

_“Uh, so where do I sleep?” The bandit asked, aloud with a dramatic upswing of his arms. His query was met with the wind master’s delicate snoring._

_When Jasper eventually felt the thief’s dull eyes linger towards him, he immediately rewarded the unspoken request with heated growl, pointedly directing his sharp muzzle towards the rickety rocking chair in the corner._

_Terance’s gaze promptly narrowed upon the sight of the chair, before shooting back towards the bed, the sleeping Elizabeth currently occupied._

_The thief hummed, daring to take a step closer……..before immediately stepping back upon witnessing the wind master suddenly perform an aggressive sprawl that had her body taking up just about every inch of the bed._

_The flute totter looked almost ready to admit defeat and saunter towards his designated bed for the night, however the human apparently had more persistence than wit and Jasper once again felt himself being weighed down by the highway man’s inquisitive stare._

_The wolf once again growled._

_“Ah c’mon.” Terance sighed undeterred. “My back’s killing me mutt, just scooch over.” He pleaded with a edging closer towards the bed.”_

_Jasper’s sapphire irises narrowed, as his features scrunched together in a nasty snarl._

_No, this was his territory, the human needed to keep his nose and everything else attached to his person away from the wolf where it belonged._

_Terance’s own dull orbs narrowed as well, whilst his minute half steps continued progressing closer and closer to the bed until his whole upper body was heavily leaning over the edge like a tree with one inch of wood in its withering stump keeping it stabilized from a destructively tumultuous fall._

_The young man’s arm stretched out with caution as his mouth began running in tandem. “Alright I didn’t want to have to do this, but” Terance paused as his scraped and scarred fingers clenched into a tight fist gradually eased themselves away, revealing an empty calloused palm._

_For a moment Jasper could only stare in confusion, that was until he suddenly felt the sensation of warm fingertips semi gently grazing against the tips of his fur._

_Jasper growled, his upper lip rearing back whilst his eyes widened in anger. How dare this pathetic stupid foolish human try this._

_He was going to pay. They would never be able to find the body only a few traces, of bloody clothin-_

_“Ah, good boy.” Cooed a saccharine voice from above. Wait a minute! Where did that come from?!_ _  
  
_

_Looking up, Jasper was shocked to his body splayed out against the covers, whilst Terance lay just a space beside him, his hand still rubbing soft circles into the wolf’s scalp._

_Jasper snarled, in rage ready to tear the man’s throat off with a single viscous bite….,but………. maybe that could wait,_ **_for now_ ** _._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_The next morning any plans of vengeance were subsequently shoved into the back of the wolf’s mind when he and Elizabeth tumbled out of bed to the sound of angry muffled shouting._

_“Wait.” The wind master’s query was interrupted by a yawn. “Where’s Terance?”_

_In the span of a second Jasper’s gaze abruptly snapped towards the direction of where Terance should have either been sound asleep or laying on the floor next to him._

_When the yelling downstairs intensified- accompanied by the sounds of glass and or bones breaking- Elizabeth and Jasper were both simultaneously dragged from the haze of tired confusion into the reality of the drafty morning as they shot to their feet and all ,but sprinted for the door._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_“You Idiot!” Master shouted for the thousandth time as she yanked back a thick bandage wrapping on Terance’s welted arm, much to his protest._

_“I told you it’s just some bruises, calm down.”_

_Ignoring the guide in favor of roughly tightening another bandage around the young man’s slim waist, Elizabeth took revenge in the minutest of forms by pinching a fraction of the young man’s hair between her fingertips and tugging it backwards._

_“I just don’t see why you thought it necessary to get into a fight with the f**king innkeeper.”_

_“He was a jerk! Besides, you should have seen him. I totally won that fight.” They had seen him and although Jasper couldn’t get the cleanest of looks what with all the blood he could contest that the at the very least the innkeeper had not been gifted a swollen black eye._

_Terance on the other hand…..._

_“Hey! Stop that!”_

_“You need to keep it iced or the swelling won’t go down!” Elizabeth argued as she fought to tape down the cloth sack of ice- they managed to buy from a nearby market vendor on their way out- against the bandit’s injured eyelid._

_“It hurts!” The non flute player more or less whined, his only other available eye shadowed by his lopsided bangs._

_“Well that’s your own fault!” Elizabeth disputed, none too gently finishing the wrap around Terance’s black eye. “What kind of fool, gets into a pointless fight like that?! Were you trying to get your a** kicked?!”_

_Due to the bandages covering one eye and his unkempt hair the other, it was hard not to be surprised by the thief’s sudden spark of rage with their only possible hint the tightening of Terance’s fists._

_“WHAT? CAUSE I’M JUST SOME HELPLESS CRIPPLE!?”_

_All sound save for the gentle beat of leftover rain quietly dripping down from the leaves of the tree they had situated themselves under abruptly ceased as if sucked into void leading to the underworld._

_Elizabeth stared at the bandit in shocked silence, her joints suddenly appearing stiff and unmovable as she mindlessly clutched onto the left over bandages._

_Suddenly Jasper felt like he had an idea about what the fight with the innkeeper was about._

_After another tense moment or two, Terance seemed to slowly register his own outburst, as his cheeks flushed pink and he worked his way out of the fog of anger long enough to offer a small palpable sigh to break the silence._

_“I…...do you have a knife?”_

_“Knife?” The ravenette cluelessly echoed like a confused lamb as her body acted on its own a dug into her satchel to produce a small pocket knife she purchased at the last village._

_‘Well, I can’t really navigate if I can’t see.” Terance explained, gesturing to his hair. “So I think it’s time my hair gets a trim.”_

_Elizabeth halted her movements momentarily regarding the young thief with a weary scrunch of her brows._

_Then suddenly with confidence replacing her trembling hands, the ravenette quickly replied. “Let me do it.”_

_“I can-”_

_“Please.” Master all ,but whispered. No logical argument pointing out the fact that Terance could easily stab his only remaining eye by accident ,no harsh insults, no badgering. Just please._

_Terance must have been as surprised as Jasper because before the wolf knew what to think, the young man was cracking a wide smile with a loud breathy chortle of laughter soon following._

_“O-ok, sure. Go ahead.” The thief chuckled, barely able to finish his consent before Elizabeth had grasped the tips of his mane in between her fingers and ordered him to quit moving._

_Humans truly were an enigma._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Later that night, as Jasper lay sprawled out on the moist, rocky surface of the above ground cave they had managed to find shelter under, he couldn’t help ,but continuously stare at Terance’s newly shortened hairline._

_The cut was much cleaner before, although still slightly disheveled thanks to the dew in the air stirring up the young man’s hair like a mixing bowl._

_As Elizabeth finally finished rotating the makeshift plate of raw rabbit meat over the fire and sat back with a loud sigh, her hands reaching out behind her for support, Terance did the same with his elbows, his dull gaze trained on their dinner like a hungry, well.. animal._

_For a brief moment only the sound of the crackling fire and the squawking birds outside filled the sparse cave._

_Then, out of nowhere a single query arose from Elizabeth’s lips._

_“Why do you carry that flute?”_

_The thief’s dull eyes swiveled back to Elizabeth whose face remained blank as she at the flute strapped to his belt._

_“Huh, uh I don’t know. Doesn’t really matter.” Terance forced a laugh, clearly attempting to brush her off._

_“If it didn’t then why do you care so much where it is at all times? You never play and I’ve never seen you try to sell it.” The wind master persisted._

_“Look it’s none of your-”_

_“I’ve basically told you my whole life story.” She admitted, with a shamed head turn. “Don’t...don’t you think it’s only fair you just...tell me this.”_

_“Why do you care?” The dirty blonde deflected._

_“Because...I...I’m just...very curious.” Elizabeth confessed, her tone bleeding earnestly as she began mindlessly scraping the loose rock back and forth between her fingertips_

_An audible sigh could be heard emittinating from Terance’s throat as he averted his gaze towards his own twiddling fingers._

_The wind master stared at him for a fraction of a second before suddenly looking guilty for the pursuit. “I-I’m sorry, I’ll drop i-”_

_“It’s from my mother.” Terance had yet to look up. “She made it herself for my ninth birthday, said she saw me watching that street musician in town everyday, thought I’d like to learn how to play something.”_

_Elizabeth’s eyes flickered towards the ground as well, whilst a heavy silence was in the midst of descending upon them. That is until the ravenette suddenly spoke again. “She sounds wonderful.”_

_Terance nodded. “She was.” He paused to finally look back at Elizabeth. “And...like yours I guess, she died when I was real young, except it wasn’t a fever, the um....the wood and paint she used to make it was extremely cheap, cause of that she ended up getting a couple really small cuts on her arm and spilled some paint too close them for comfort without realizing …...it till about a week later when she died of infection.”_

_“.......”_

_“Hey…. do... you want to know how I got my leg messed up?”_

_Master’s features remained pointed towards the ground despite her apparent surprise._

_“I...y-yes.” The green banged woman hesitantly stuttered out, her head slowly turning to face Terance’s._

_The navigator sighed, leaning back even further against the wet stone. “After she went, my dad got pretty depressed. Started drinking, lost his job, the works.” Terance laughed like anything in that sentence was remotely humorous._

_“So, we ended up losing our house, had to live on the streets for a few years. Without money, my dad started stealing. It started out with small things, you know like spare coin, food, clothes, all that but eventually he just ...started wanting more.So, he got it in his head he was gonna rob a house, and...he told me I could help because I was just small enough to climb down their chimney and unlock the front door for him on the other side. ”_

_Jasper watched as Terance’s fingers began wringing themselves into his shirt with the furiousness of loads of unbridled, barely contained emotion. His dull orbs seemed to darken with the story despite the laxness in his tone._

_The thief’s gaze briefly traveled back to the ground, like they could no longer support the weight of concern reflected in Elizabeth’s tense blue irises_

_._

_“I could barely see. It was too late at night and I couldn’t light a match ,but my good old dad just kept yelling at me to_ **_be a man_ ** _, told me I had nothing to worry about because he’d be there watching my every step, and holding the rope. Promised me he’d never let go.”_

_The green banged woman’s entire frame seemed to tremble with the wavy flames slowly burning their dinner._

_“,but you know I guess, it’s hard to keep a promise like that when a random Stixx Officer strolls by. I guess he just dropped the rope and started running, cause next thing I know I’m slipping and there’s nothing there to stop me from falling into the ash...I...never saw him again after that night.”_

_Terance abruptly leaned forward, his hands slowly trailing down towards his patchwork pant leg. As his calloused limps grasped the worn material and slowly lifted it up high past his lower thigh, the angry reddish purple mark strangling the veins of his leg became visible for all to see._

_Master’s eyes went unnervingly blank, whilst her features turned a sickly pale._

_The thief, studying her reaction, almost looked miffed if Jasper didn’t know any better._

_“Yeah, sorry it’s not as intricate as yours ...you know it’s just some of us don’t have this big amazing, important family, some of us just got a dead mom and a crappy as hell dad.”_

_That night, no one said a word over their dinner of rubbery, burned rabbit. However Jasper was baffled to see Elizabeth’s hand tentatively reach out to rest atop of Terance's. Even more baffling, the bandit didn’t say anything._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_It was starting to get colder._

_The plants, though most still vibrant and lush, were beginning to droop slightly under the changing climate, and his fur coat was beginning to thicken in size slightly as did the number of clothes adorning the two human halves of the trios’ shoulders._

_And with the subsequent change in weather,Jasper also began to notice a strange change in Elizabeth._

_More specifically, how she was treating their nusscance of a travel mate._

_She didn’t seem to yell at him much anymore, nor did she throw him into trees as often._

_Even at night their conversations over the campfire gradually turned much more...friendly. With the two almost_ **_playfully_ ** _taunting each other day in and day out._

_The strangest moment of change that Jasper could discern was when they passed through the next random village and rented yet another inn room for the night._

_Terance_ **_had_ ** _been about to lay down on the bed with Jasper -not before offering the animal his newest piece of rabbit jerky f course- ,but before he could so much as touch the sheets a pair of slim roughened hands shot out from the dark of his lanky shadow to snatch the collar of his tattered shirt and Jasper’s thick fur in a vice grip before all ,but slamming the young man and the wolf onto the opposite bed._

_Within a second, the confused thief’s arms were wrapped around the lithe frame of Jasper’s master whilst her own went to tangle themselves around Jasper himself. Her wide blue eyes stared up at the perplexed guide’s face with what was probably supposed to be cold indifference._

_“It’s cold.” Was the only explanation offered before whatever else she had to say became muffled against the crook of Terance’s arm as she -for lack of a better word- snuggled her body against his._

_The dirty blonde continued looking down at the barely conscious woman for a second longer before simply shrugging and leaning back as well to fall asleep._

_Jasper’s left eye suffered a mysterious twitch that night._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Throughout the many increasingly cold nights that followed, the space between Elizabeth and Terance over the campfire steadily grew smaller and smaller- as did the fire._

_One night it seemed any and all air between them disappeared leaving the two humans to gasp at eachother like fish trying to survive a freezing pond._

_“So,” Terance breathed after a loud laugh at one of Elizabeth’s usual taunts, his air illustrated in a puff of porcelain fog amidst the frigid air. “You still haven’t told me, what exactly is in this Bone Miasma that’s gonna, you know, make you all powerful.”_

_“Oh,” Elizabeth laughed, her ice breath ghosting the red hardened flesh of the thief’s pointed nose. “Now, that’s a pretty interesting tale.”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“My aunt told me about it when I was young. She used to love to scare me with these stories. She once told me that Ninjago has a spirit of chaos and she’s only known as Sangu.”_

_“Sounds lovely.”_

_“I once asked my aunt where I could find her, she told me Sangu sits in a palace of bones, bones torn out of the travelers she deemed unworthy.”_

_“Unworthy of what?” Terance asked with a quirk of his brow._

_“Her.”_

_“What?”_

_“They weren’t worthy of her,_ **_her soul_ ** _. The only reason someone enters into her domain is to be granted the honor of being her host. My aunt said if she chooses to let her spirit enter your body, you will gain the ultimate power one can have in this world, immortality!”_

_“Wow, and….you think you're worthy?”_

_“Yes.” Master replied without missing a beat. “I have to be, there’s no turning back now. She’ll choose me, I just know it, and with her aid I’ll have my revenge.” The wind master proudly proclaimed to Terance then the increasingly darkening sky._

_The thief for all his obvious skepticism managed a small humored smile._

_“That’s...a great plan.”_

_“I know!” Elizabeth cheerily replied, oblivious to the bandit’s weariness. “I’ve been piecing this together since I was twelve years old and now,” The ravenette paused to look back at Terance. “Thanks to some help, I’m finally going to do this…..thank you..._ **_idiot_ ** _.” Master jabbed, leaning in even closer to flick the thief’s forehead. Before she could retract her hand, her wrist was suddenly clutched tightly against Terance’s palm_

_“I,” The guide trailed off, looking down at his thumb whilst it began unconsciously rubbing circles against one of the wind master’s veins. Jasper was about to sit up, growl and demand for release, but then Terance finally found his voice again. “So, what are you gonna do after you have your revenge?”_

_Master frowned. “I don’t know..” The blue eyed woman answered honestly. “But...I don’t really care either, all that matters is ending_ **_his_ ** _life.”_

_Terance was unable to restrain a quiet guffaw. “Really?”_

_“Well, what are_ **_you_ ** _going to do?” The wind master shot back, a vaguely prickly tone just barely shining through her inflection. “You know, after this is all done and over. If you say robbing people I’m afraid I’ll have to turn you in again.” Whether Elizabeth was joking or not remained to be seen._

_Terance laughed. “Well, to be honest I..haven’t thought much about that either…,but..you know……”_

_“Yeah?” The green banged woman pressed impatiently, despite the ever widening grin slowly taking up more and more of her face._

_An audible gulp, Jasper knew for a fact was not his own nor Elizabeth’s suddenly rang out against the icy silence of the forest._

_“Well, it’s just..I was thinking...you know maybe...maybe w-when..you know...y-you’re done with all that revenge stuff maybe...well...maybe...you kn-”_

_Whatever else Terance was about to uncharacteristically stutter out was lost in a noiseless gasp as Elizabeth’s lips suddenly met his._

_Jasper’s eyes widened as his ears stood up straight and stiff against his head. What was Elizabeth doi-_

_The wolf’s thoughts were abruptly lost in a sea of confusion when the wind master eventually leaned back, most likely to gauge the thief’s reaction. However before her mouth could fully detach from his, Terance’s right hand instantly snaked itself up to her neck and with gentleness the bandit should not have been able to possess, he pushed her back against him._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_The next morning, and the many days that followed, Jasper hoped, prayed that their strange exchange was just a fluke, an incredible accident that would never happen again._

_His prayers were not answered._

_Instead quite the opposite happened, day by day, week by week,month by month, it started occurring more and more. And, day by day Jasper was beginning to feel his fur and his anxieties heighten in size. It starts like this, it always starts like this ,but then….then eventually, you’re lying in the same cramped room everyday, your skin getting paler by the hour and your movements weakening more and more until finally….finally you just...close your eyes, forever._

_It happened to_ **_her_ ** _. Jasper wouldn’t let it happen to Master Elizabethh too._

_So everyday the wolf refused to let either young person out of his watchful eye for more than a moment, going as far as to shoehorn himself between them at just about every given moment ,but unfortunately there were times where Jasper’s control fell and the wind master and thief had already buried themselves in each other's arms or managed to slip away for a few or sometimes more than few precious moments._

_Still, the wolf remained determined as they passed through the next and according to Terance, the last village they would see before they finally made it to the Bone Miasma._

_That night in by far the drabbest inn room they had rented thus far, Jasper made sure to firmly wedge himself in the center of their trio, muscling Terance to the very back whilst keeping his gaze firmly trained ahead on Elizabeth’s footsteps._

_Even as Terance unlocked the room, Jasper had already pushed Elizabeth inside, keeping his body curled around her ankles like a rope._

_In any other case the wind master most likely would have been annoyed or perhaps even confused at the wolf’s protective behavior however tonight, she didn’t really seem to take notice, in fact she hadn’t said a word since….that tea shop she had chosen to stop at whilst Terance went to pay for the room._

_The bandit seemed to be in a similar state of befuddlement because he was quick to frown after an unnervingly long moment of silence._

_“What?”_

_Elizabeth didn’t reply, her glassy stare trained on the ground like it may crumble beneath her feet. Without a word, she raised her left hand to display an upturned palm with...a picture of the sun painted on? Actually, as Jasper stepped closer he could of sworn..he’d seen it before….wait! No, there’s no way! It couldn’t be-_

_Terance tilted his head. “Uh, nice tattoo?” Idiot._

_The wind master let out a long sigh. “It’s not a tattoo.”_

_“Oh?...Then wha-”_

_“I started throwing up three months ago, mostly very early in the mornings.”_

_“What?!” The navigator gaped, looking alarmed. “Are you sic-”_

_The ravenette cut him off with a head shake. “No, I didn’-don’t feel sick ,but I knew something might be up, so I….I didn’t think I ‘d really be….,but I just wanted to check it off the list of possibilities so I..bought a tea from town today...and...its purpose is to_ **_detect_ ** _, the presence of...life within. If...a moon appears on the woman’s hand five minutes after she’s finished drinking than, there’s nothing there ,but...if there’s a sun..”_

  
  


_Terance continued to stare, his mouth set into a deep frown, whilst his brow remained lined with thought._

_“Wait so-”_

_“You foolish neanderthal I’m pregnant!” Elizabeth shouted, her eyes glistening with frustration._

_“P-pregnant…” The young man stutteringly echoed, his voice faltering more heavily than a thin line of twine stretched across a vast pit of withering darkness. “I...it’s..mine?”_

_Tears had begun to prick at the edges of the wind master’s scrunched down eyelids. “You idiot!” She repeated with no more conviction than the smallest stone thrown against a gargantuan immovable mountain. “Who else would it be…” Elizabeth trailed off as more liquid gathered in her eyes that she desperately tried to scrub away with the hand marking her fate and Jasper’s failure like a red bullseye._

_By next morning, the first snow of winter had begun to fall._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“She cried huh?” Morro quietly commented, his voice void of surprise or anger or any other emotion that should be paired with the sentiment.

Jasper said nothing, directing his gaze toward the floor as he muttered “Yes.”

_No one spoke. Not as they left the inn, the town, not even when they stumbled their first steps onto the mountainous terrain that began rearing its hazardous head as the lush forestation waved goodbye to them along with the last traces of civilization they’d see for a while._

_Jasper kept himself behind Elizabeth as always._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_“We should be there within the next month.” Terance said as he shakingly marked the crumpled edge of the map with what was left of his led pencil._

_Elizabeth nodded sipping her boiled water in silence._

_A flicker of something the likes of which the closest Jasper to come to describe as, conflict flashed within the bandit’s eyes as he stared at the ravenette._

_Master’s stomach had gotten larger and her spry movements seemed more difficult to maintain with each passing week._

_“Maybe,” Terance paused as if already struck down in the unspoken debate. “You know since we’re basically there, we could just...turn back for now and wait in that town-”_

_“No.”_

_“Elizabeth-”_

_“I’m not turning back now!” The wind master snapped, the cup between her palms beginning to shake._

_“Look at you!” Terance abruptly shouted back. His eyes though ablaze with concern, still underlined with what could only be described as….empathy. “You won’t make it through the snow like thi-”_

_“No, you won’t!” Elizabeth spat, her tone filled to the brim with venom. “You’re...I’m_ **_not_ ** _weak! I’ve waited for this...for..my whole life!” The ravenette’s upper lip pulled back in a sickeningly angry snarl. “I...waited everyday,..for him to come back.” The wind master sounded so..._ **_hollow_ ** _, as she threw back the rest of the water down her throat, Jasper wondered in the back of his mind if the liquid might just pour out onto snow on the other side. Suddenly the picture of a little girl whose black hair began to spring free from the neat bun her aunt had combed it into, as she smashed the entire upper half of her stout frame up against the glass window of the shop whilst snow very much like today’s trickled onto the wet pavement. “Only...only to find out the truth on my tenth f**king birthday.” The paper makeshift cup perished between the wind master’s trembling grip._

_Jasper could clearly remember now, the slow wavering smile on her ten year old face as Greta laid a hand on her shoulder and told her_ **_he_ ** _was never coming back. For her birthday that year, Master only asked for the sword as a present._

_“Do you really think this is what he wanted?!” Terance shouted, standing up. “For his daughter to get herself killed chasing fairytales like a.......”The thief trailed off at taking notice of the wind master’s incensed aura._

_“Like a what?!” Elizabeth viciously prodded as she shot to her feet as well._

_“Like….a_ **_child_ ** _.” The bandit simply stated, all thoughts of self preservation clearly banished from his mind. Master’s eyes widened, all before narrowing into slits like that of a cornered animal, her claws (powers) already raised in defense._

_“Go ahead and throw me into a thousand more trees if you want!” Terance fearlessly declared. “I don’t care, but please …..just....._ **_let this go_ ** _!” The thief begged his arms already beginning to rise at his sides in preparation for the inevitable blow._

_What happened instead surprised even Jasper._

_Elizabeth chuckled. “Let it go…..let it go.” The wind master whispered like a mantra on loop within her mind. “I’ve been told that just about every day of my life, just let go, move on with my life…” The ravenette explained before abruptly reaching out for her satchel and the map. “But you know what.” The wind master looked back over her shoulder, the bags under her eyes especially visible now. “Letting go also means forgetting...and I refuse to forget. Not my father, not my mother ,” The wind master’s eyes slid close as she had to exhale a short breath through her gritted teeth. “Not my_ ** _family_** _. Everyone else has forgotten about them ,but I._ _refuse.”_

_The blue eyed woman turned back to peer at the tortuous path ahead._

_“You can turn around if you want, I’ll even give the rest of my silver if you want ,but don’t you dare try to interfere.” Master ordered and Jasper couldn’t help ,but emit a small whine. It didn’t feel like she was just talking to Terance._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Terance stayed and, for some reason Jasper found himself grateful for that._

_The mountain land seemed to twist and transform the farther they climbed up. The path was becoming especially dangerous when it became incredibly narrow over a valley of varying rock pits miles long in both height and size with seemingly no end to them._

_Elizabeth took the first step causing a breathless moment to be shared between the human and non human male as they helplessly watched, the wind master force her way down the naturally formed bridge with heavy thuds accompanying each of her footsteps._

_Jasper hopped on next, making sure to keep his four paws balanced against the stone his paws struggling to grip the unsteady rock beneath him._

_Terance climbed on next, or he would’ve, were it not for the thunderous roar that stilled the entire landscape save for the retreating birds._

_Jasper’s blood froze as his nose was quickly flooded with the scent of another animal. Another much larger animal, a..no ...no,no,no it couldn’t be-_

_The wolf’s worst fears proved true when a long shadow suddenly loomed over the valley of pits, accompanied by a wretched smell emanating from a mouth of teeth as sharp as a thousand swords and skin as hard as the most indestructible stone. A Grundle._

_Jasper couldn’t see Elizabeth’s expression until she spun around with the force of a tornado. Her usually vibrant blue eyes wide and pale with a horror that had her unmoving. Terance appeared to be similarly disarmed with shock and when another roar erupted from trees and the sound of destructive footsteps stomped closer, Jasper had no choice ,but to grab the bandit’s pant leg with his jaws and force the thief into movement across the bridge along with Elizabeth._

_The moment Terance’s feet touched the rock his feet rammed themselves against the unstable ground as he ran as fast as possible all ,but bulldozing Elizabeth forward as well, whilst the shadow above them edged closer and closer._

_It was too late._

_Jasper knew that when the sound of stone breaking with a gun shot esq crack rang out, and then...the bridge beneath thief feet broke off, falling with them into the nearest chasm below. In the span of two terrified screams, the stone they had just walked on, now remained the only thing holding the trio from an endless fall into the depths below._

_Digging his claws into the rock with all his might, Jasper looked up to see the stone bridge had manage to wedge itself between the walls of the pit they had fallen into._

_Elizabeth..ELIZABETH!!_ _  
_ _  
_ _Jasper panted in panic as his sapphire orbs went everywhere in search of his master._

_Within seconds the wolf eyes landed on the limp figure laying on her back with Terance kneeling beside her just a few feet away from the wolf. The animal’s heart thudded in his furry chest as he carefully pushed himself to his feet and edged down the stone beam towards the thief and wind master._

_When he was within an inch of his master, Jasper couldn’t stop himself from throwing his head down to Elizabeth’s eye level._

_Please,please, please-_

_A hoarse cough rang out like the most beautiful chime_

_“J-Jasper…” The wind master’s body trembled as she turned around and pushed herself up onto her elbows. At that moment, the wolf’s joy died like an injured dove as he saw the right ankle twisted backwards, and the left hand that hung limp from a snapped wrist._

_Elizabeth’s movements as weak and disjointed as they were, were unable to summon even the smallest gust of wind._

_And the sounds of Grundle roaring refused to cease, in fact seemingly getting closer...and closer._

_Jasper’s fear was shoved down his throat with the force of a scythe swing as he let out a loose mindless growl and positioned himself over his master and Terance. The thief said nothing, his dull eyes still wide and silent with complete and utter fear._

_The shadow found them again, and the sounds of neverending destruction kept erupting in tandem as the Grundle most likely struggled to maneuver his massive body across the pits without falling into them himself._

_Until, inevitably he found his prey._

_Jasper could only intensify his growls to loud snarling and sharpen his dull claws, as adrenaline rushed to every ounce of his body._

_At that moment, the wolf was ready to die._

_The grundle paid the much smaller animal’s threats no mind as it vainly tried reaching down to snap his prey up with just his jaws. The predator wasn’t close enough- his saliva just barely grazing the top of Jasper’s head-, but with each downward thrust of his huge jaws the walls of the pit gradually chipped away and it was clear that soon enough he would have his dinner._

_Jasper remained unflinching, continuing to bark and growl and snarl ready to tear his paws right into the disgusting yellow eyes of the monster._

_“T-terance..” Elizabeth’s voice was muffled against the stone, but Jasper heard it regardless and looked down momentarily to see, Terance was no longer beneath him._

_Icy fear wrapped its unrelenting grip around the wolf’s mind as he helplessly looked everywhere for the missing thief._

_Until._

_He found him._

_Silently edging himself along the underside of the broken bridge, with agility Jasper should have known better than to doubt the bandit to have possessed. The grundle refused to notice the runaway meal, instead focusing his energy on obtaining the slightly larger prize._

_As Jasper attention was briefly directed elsewhere, Elizabeth had edged far away enough from the wolf’s protective hold to be able to look up from the stone and see._

_“T-ter-rance..”The wind master barely managed to choke out, reaching out a pointless hand in his direction as the thief finally reached the opposite wall, and climbed out onto stable land._

_Once he was standing, the bandit’s eyes landed on the trapped pair, and in just that half a second, Jasper caught sight of his sword gripped in Terance’s hand and the wolf’s rage boiled over like a crumbling tower and he swore to rip every vein out of the man’s body if they ever survived th-_

_Then, the thief mouthed a pathetic sor-ry and took out his flute before carefully bringing it to his lips._

_Then he blew._

_The sound was a horrible, high pitched cacophony of malicious intent to the umphest degree. And it was so blaring, so ear infecting, that …...the grundle couldn’t ignore it._

_In a flash Jasper watched as Elizabeth’s trembling halted, and her body froze unmoving against the awful invasive noise and her eyes went paler than any pair of eyes had gone in existence and her lower lip quivered with the barely restrained terror. A soundless scream escaped her as Terance unsheathed her father’s sword and with all the strength he possessed threw it at the Grundle._

_The sword made no more than a dent against the beast’s thick skin as it clattered to the stone bridge ,but it along with the ear assault were enough for the beast to turn its sights on the bandit._

_So with an enraged roar the grundle jumped over the chasm onto Terance’s side and gave chase._

_“No..n-no” Elizabeth croaked out, her head rapidly shaking as if begging for Terance to go back in time and choose leaving them at the mercy of the Grundle instead of_ **_this_ ** _._

_The thief merely offered the approaching Grundle a cheeky smile before taking off, faster than Jasper had ever seen a man with a limp run in all his hundred years of living._

_In a moment that passed by faster and yet still somehow slower than all the vast moments that compromised both Jasper and Elizabeth’s lives the stupid, foolish, horrible, smelly, human disappeared beneath the wide edges of the pit’s walls, along with the retreating tale of the grundle shortly following._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Jasper’s nose could have detected the scent of a rabbit from ten miles away with how much concentration he put into his senses, his master’s order echoing in his brain like a psalm._

**_“Jasper, dig your way up the wall, and look for Terance. He has to…....just find him alright, boy.”_ **

_The snow had begun to harden with the increasingly strong winter. His footsteps barely made a dent within the white landscape._

_Much to his surprise Jasper didn’t have to travel far, though it did take him a good three hours to finally find...the thief._

_Red crimson marred the crystalline snow like a plague and in the center of the sickness laid the prone form of what had once been a filthy thief._

_...or what was left of him._

_Both the man’s legs were now empty phantom sockets where flesh had once resided and his left arm was nowhere to be seen._

_Still the bandit smiled as he waved his flute clutching hand towards Jasper when he saw the wolf approach._

_“Hey, m-mutt.” Blood dribbled down his chin._

_Jasper made no noise as he cautiously approached._

_His nose was assaulted by all sorts of metallic scents, but the wolf could barely register the discomfort as he sniffed the young man’s collar._

_“H-heh good job fin-nding m-me.” Terance laughed as he raised a gentle hand to card through Jasper’s fur. “G-guess I w-wasn’t as t-tasty as h-he hoped.” The thief explained, wordlessly gesturing towards ripped off chunks of paint rubbed onto the remains of his pants._

_The wolf growled ,but there was no strength behind it. He clenched his teeth against the bandit’s shirt, mustering all the strength he could to start dragging the legless man back. If he could just-”_

_“St-top” Terance rasped out. At the sight of more blood pouring down his lip, Jasper halted, dropping the man back onto the ground. He can’t...he can’t save him._

_The navigator raised his bloody flute towards Jasper’s muzzle. “C-can you be a good m-mutt and b-bring t-this to t-the b-blowhard.”_

_The animal’s eyes widened as he mindlessly whined. No, not...not like thi-_

_“Oh, d-o you need some inc-cent-tiv-ve.” Terance asked, with an air of uncalled for humor as he dug a shaky hand down his pant’s pocket and produced, what else a piece of rabbit jerky._

_It actually looked pretty fresh this time._

_Jasper’s whine broke out into an audible howl as his legs trembled beneath him._

_Without hesitation the wolf took the jerky into the mouth and then the flute between his jaws, mustering all of his control to pierce as little wood as possible._

_“G-good d-doggie.” Terance smiled with another cough._

_Jasper made no more sound, opting to instead simply nuzzle his head further against the thief’s only remaining hand until……. it stopped._

_Then he howled brokenly at the sky._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“Jasper! Did you-”

Master’s query was cut short as Jasper carefully crept towards her and laid the vermillion soaked flute in her lap.

_In the seconds that followed, Elizabeth would silently lift the bloody flute into her right hand and proceed to cry, cry, cry and cry harder_ **_still_ ** _, long into the early recesses of morning._

_And all the while her loyal most truest companion would be able to do nothing ,but sit and stare._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Food was getting harder to find._

_All the game was either in hibernation or had already migrated and the surrounding plant life had long since died away._

  
  


_And the cold was only getting stronger._

_Master needed to get out of the pit before she either froze or starved to death._

_However, everyday when Jasper dug his way back into the pit while Elizabeth’s stomach grew larger and larger ,that was the only change present in her person._

_She hadn’t said a word for months,_ **_his_ ** _flute never leaving her hand._

_The only movement Jasper could get her to perform each day was the occasional stretching of her jaw as she ate whatever little food Jasper managed to bring back to her._

_Her limbs slowly healed, but she remained weak,from the hunger and the cold. Her powers returned in small bursts ,but never enough to lift herself out of there._

_And still Jasper kept up hope, not knowing what else to do aside from dig out day in and day out until something changed._

_In a strange twist of fate that change eventually came in the form of a suddenly much more animated Elizabeth crying out towards the sky whilst the bones in her hands crushed themselves against the rock walls she was tensing against for dear life._

_Jasper had no idea what to do, another air piercing wail almost made the wolf fear that she had lost herself in the vices of grief once more ,but then...then there came another cry._

_And it didn’t belong to Elizabeth._

_With wide unblinking sapphire orbs, Jasper watched in awe as a slender body- that must have wished itself into existence within the green banged woman’s arms- whine and cry out into the frigid air._

_The wolf remained frozen as he witnessed Master slowly look down at the babe in her hands with an unknowing blankness in her eyes the likes of which Jasper had never seen before._

_Then out of nowhere a wide set smile etched itself onto her features-a watery smile thanks to the tears cascading down her calloused red cheeks- and in a throaty whisper Elizabeth uttered her first words in months._

_“I should've chosen you."_

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Jasper paused, looking back up to Morro with a strange hesitance. 

The wind master narrowed his eyes as he too looked towards the floor.

“What happened next?”

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Jasper wasn’t sure why Master was taking off part of her shaw tying it around his midsection or why she slipped the bundled baby beneath its snug confines along with_ **_his_ ** _flute and_ **_his_ ** _sword , all that he was sure of was that Elizabeth’s eyes had finally stopped looking so pale._

_And that made his heart swell._

_So much so that when his master told him to start digging a tunnel into the wall like always he did so without hesitation...that is until he realized there was no way he could possibly find food again. It was far too cold._

_Looking back over his shoulder, the wolf whined to his master, hoping to assuage her inevitable disappointment._

_But, Elizabeth didn’t look disappointed quite the opposite actually as she summoned all her strength to push her upper body into the small tunnel. She had gotten thin enough that she fit almost perfectly._

_Jasper’s ears raised themselves from his head as his eyes widened in surprise. Was Master actually going to-_

_“Go ahead boy.” The ravenette commanded with a weary smile. “Start digging and don’t stop until we’re completely off this mountain. I know you can do it, and don’t worry I’ll be right behind you.”_

_Jasper could’ve saluted if he’d been able. He now had a job to do, and digging was thankfully one he was fairly good at._

_“Oh and boy,” Elizabeth’s smile looked almost wistful. “Keep him safe.”_

_]Him. The baby strapped to his back…..the one Elizabeth deemed to call Teran._

_The wolf gave one panting nod before he turned back ahead and dug, and,dug, and dug. All the while listening for the minutest of uptakes in Elizabeth’s breaths as he paused and shifted constantly to make sure she was there, behind him._

_And yet still, Jasper couldn’t shake the anxiety weighing down on him, as he felt the deathly hand of cold reach out into the tunnel, following them with every step and every barrier surpassed ,but the wolf forced those worries from his mind, intent on the singular goal of getting them out of the mountain._

_His only comfort was the sound of Eizabeth’s voice in brushing against his ears,_

_“I’m right here boy!”_

_“You’re doing great Jasper!”_ _  
  
_

_“Good boy keep going!”_

_“Keep him safe Jasper!”_

_The comforts stuck themselves to his mind, keeping him focused and sure for however long they spent trespassing through the never before touched ground, until….finally..when the scent of harsh unyielding stone disappeared and gave way to warmer soil, Jasper knew..knew that he’d dug them away from the mountain’s reach and despite the protests of his tired, aching body breached through the mounds of dirt out onto the softer, snowy surface._

_Jasper howled with excitement as he jumped around the much lighter snow with ease, only pausing to lick up the icy liquid into his mouth where it could melt and provide him some much needed hydration._

_Master must be so proud! Master would be so happy when she popped her head out of the ground._

_So, with baited breath Jasper turned towards the hole he’d just happily emerged from and sat back on his haunches in wait._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Jasper paused again to swallow a watery breath.

“I waited for three days, but,”

The former wolf’s heart stuck itself in his throat and he was unable to maintain eye contact with anyone as he looked back down towards his feet. 

“She never came. It-..I’m sorry.” Jasper blurted out having held those words in for all these years without even knowing them. “To this day I still don’t understand...I heard her! She kept telling me she was right there! I don’t-”

“It’s called sound throwing.” Morro abruptly interjected, his gaze, voice, everything utterly blank.

“W-what?” 

“Sound throwing.” The wind master repeated, lifting a closed fist into his hand and whispering something inaudible into, then in a shocking turn of events opened the fist to reveal a tiny sphere of air that he promptly released in Jasper’s direction.

Before the charcoal raven could cower, the air had already whizzed past his ear and with it the sound of Morro’s voice. 

“It’s when you make the wind carry your voice. Wu-A guy taught me how to do it when I was younger.”

Jasper stumbled back in shock. 

“N-no...no that….no she wouldn’t...that can’t b-,” 

The former wolf’s stuttered denial was cut off by a shrug from Morro.

“Believe what you want. It doesn’t matter.”

It was Lloyd’s turn to look appalled. “How can you say that?!”

“Because I’m not so stupid as to believe the woman who abandoned me at a f**king trainstation magically passed away in a hole in the ground!” Morro snapped back with an angry grimace.

“This is all just a bunch of f**king fairytale bullsh*t and I’m not falling for i-”

“It’s my fault.”

Morro halted, his mouth slightly agape and brow furrowed at being interrupted.

“What-”

“It’s my fault.” The former wolf repeated both the sentence and the interruption. His voice just barely construed together under the massive weight of guilt and shame tightening its ugly grasp on his psyche

“I’m the reason you were left there.”

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

_Jasper could feel his body beginning to quit on him as the sounds of crying kept piercing the air without rest._

_He didn’t know how far his legs had taken him through the endless white wasteland, how long it had been since the need for water and the echoes of his master’s last words ‘Keep him Safe.’ won out over his desire to sit and wait for Elizabeth for all eternity._

_The wind blew mercilessly against his coat, and with his ribs so close to the surface his bones were much easier to chill._

_Jasper pushed on though. His steps though faltering, persistent as they carried him onward._

_Sometimes, the wolf liked to imagine his master still there, walking ahead of him, sometimes he didn’t have a choice._

_Hallucinations were a funny thing, they alighted a basic joy ,but at the same time a much darker dread._

_The worst was when he looked behind him and saw_ **_her_ ** _standing there, smiling at him, telling him it was all gonna be alright, even though he’d been a runt abandoned by his pack and left to die in darkness._

_In the back of his mind though (perhaps the only intact part left) Jasper knew he would never see_ **_her_ ** _again. Because he had always ran ahead of her, always feeling sense of mirth as she poutingly called out to him to slow down ,but he never had...and maybe that was why he failed to notice when she stopped chasing him, when she became confined to that prison bed, never to walk outside along the grass and graze a hand through his hair whilst she drew pictures of birds and fish in that silly little notebook._

_And, as meaningless time passed, into more meaningless time Jasper gradually came to the devastating realization that now, there was no one in front or behind him. Just him and this helpless stranger amidst a desert of snow and ice._

_Jasper wasn’t sure when he had passed out, when a group of travelers had noticed them, when they had used their sled dogs to pull him and the babe into their small hut where a roaring fire breathed life back into him, all he knew was that the sound of crackling, burning wood roused him from unconsciousness._

_“-ell Hey! At least that nasty flute made for some good firewood!”_ _  
  
_

_Jasper’s teeth had already bared themselves before he realized it and within a second whoever’s throat that proud declaration had been uttered from,became the object of their tereny._

_The wolf’s instincts were arage with fire as he attacked the random person with ferocious velocity, he was only halted in his uncontrollable desire to kill the man when two, three human’s muscled their arms around his starving body and pulled him back with just enough strength to be able to pin him to the floor and tie his flailing limbs together._

_“Yeesh,” The disgusting, living human breathed, a gloved hand going to rest on his throat. It should’ve-_ **_would’ve_ ** _been bleeding. “I guess that dog’s pretty feral, you guys should take him and that sword to that trainer in Herani bet he’d give us a pretty penny for both.”_

_“Ok ,but what about the baby?” Came a distinctively more feminine voice from above._

_“Eh, me and you’ll drop him off at the next train station. Someone’ll surely bring him home..”_

_Jasper lunged out to bite the man’s ankle ,but before he could a cloth sack was tied over his muzzle and he was hauled outside onto a sled._

_He escaped within three days in their ‘journey’ ,but….. it was already too late._

_Teran was gone._

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

“I searched everywhere.” Jasper admitted with shame. “But I couldn’t just find you….so…...I just took the sword, came back here.” The former wolf lifted his arms in a mock gesture. “And all I’ve been doing since then is, _waiting_.”

  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew I think this might be the longest chapter I’ve written so far, I truly hope y’all like it! Feel free to let me know in a review I always love critique and criticism. Everyone have a blessed day-err night, evening, whatever and I’ll see you all next chapter! Bye for now!


	35. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An exasperated wolf takes pity on these sad boys.

The room’s delicate balance between hefty silence and a potentially outrageous cacophony of angry, accusing, voices seemed to rest on Morro’s stiff shoulders as his gaze lingered on the dusty floor boards beneath Jasper’s feet. 

Lloyd couldn’t bring himself to so much as breathe whilst he waited for the wind master’s inevitable respons-

“Ok, seriously how are we gonna turn him back before Koso gets back?” Morro suddenly asked, raising his head to meet the tense eyes of his fellow companions. 

The blonde didn’t know why his first instinct was to release a relieved, yet ...almost... _disappointed_ sigh ,but he didn’t have much time to ponder on its implication before the familiar hand of panic tightened its grip around the base of his throat and he was left gasping both figuratively and literally for an answer as his peripherals caught sight of the lighter shade of grey subtly over taking the once pitch black sky. Sun rise was coming and soon. 

“We-I...I don’t- We’re screwed!” The green ninja shakily wheezed. Even still, he couldn’t help absentmindedly flipping back through the pages of the spellbook, as if there was any hope for an answer to be produced. 

“Ok, ok,” Morro sighed, sounding strangely calm as he raised his hands into the air. “Why don’t you just...try again.”

“But-”

“You said it yourself, we’re already screwed so, what’s the harm in trying just _one more time._ ” The former ghost reasoned with an uncomfortably tight smile, his sweetened tone petering on the edge of hysteria. 

After a moment of staggered breathing, Lloyd weirdly found himself nodding in understanding. Ok, just one more time, and if it didn't work, there was nothing they could do about it now, oh well.

“Alright,” The green ninja aquised as he raised up an only slightly steadier hand, not even bothering to look back at the symbol. 

“On three,” Lloyd easily decided, since the situation did effectively feel like the detonation countdown of a bomb in one of those cheesy action movies Kai liked. “One,Two…”

At the last second the blonde focused his gaze back on Jasper, whose stoic glare seemed to be glued to the opposite wall, like he had yet to pull himself back to the present. 

Closing his eyes, Lloyd all ,but whispered. “Three.”

_“Snap.”_

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

This wasn’t the first time he’d been involved in a streetside scuffle, but Koso would be lying if he’d said it had even once been against a group of colorfully dressed young adults. 

‘For the love of-Brother what have you done!?’ He rhetorically asked himself as he more or less snuck through the grimy Ninjago City back alleys, away from the pile of his challengers uselessly demanding for a rematch. He truly was a benevolent man to have at least led them away from the public eye so their precious reputation could remain intact.

Koso might’ve found the situation humorous, were it not for the daunting reminder of the potential destruction his already marred cottage was currently facing with those two brats stirring about in it. 

He needed to make this last part quick, just like with the old man. 

So with a heavy sigh, The sorcerer snapped his fingers and the image of his face faded from the minds of the young ninja.

“Sorry, but I’ve already been more than fair. Now I have to go and train that idiot _brother_ of yours.”

**_ForgottenFamily_ **

Lloyd was so close to dying from an amazing mixture of shock and relief he could almost feel the hand of the Departed Realm reaching out to him. Jasper had never looked so beautiful as he did on all fours, his body completely back to normal with fur, teeth,ears, and all. 

The closest thing to celebration Lloyd found himself capable of accomplishing was a quiet, “I did it.” as he inwardly rejoiced in the fact they weren’t going to be murdered and or turned into frogs or something else equally maniacal come Koso’s arrival. They were going to make it to tomorrow at least!

“Ok what are we gonna do with that f**king spell book now? You know Koso can’t find out you have it.”

‘Crap he’s gotta poin-’ Lloyd’s thoughts suddenly stopped of their volition as he vaguely registered the…. _strange_ quality to Morro’s voice a second ago.

  
  


“Wait, why do you sound like tha-” The blonde wasn’t allowed much time to finish his verbal pondering before he was abruptly stricken into horrified stillness with a cut off yelp. The little movement his body did allow him was used to quickly raise his strangely smaller looking hand to cover his mouth as his brain slowly registered the peculiar high pitched quality to his own voice. Not for the fact that it didn’t sound like himself ,but more so the fact he hadn’t sounded like that in a long,long time not since he was…..No, no it couldn’t be...

The blonde’s gaze darted down towards the lower half of his body and...unfortunately his worst most bizarre fears were confirmed in the form of two stubby legs and chubby arms that hadn’t belonged to him since he was eight f**king years old!  
  


“Lloyd,” The green ninja mindlessly looked up. He would’ve likely plummeted backwards were it or the fact his jaw was currently all ,but nailed to the ground.

Morro stood about an inch shorter than him, and his pale skin was close to drowning in the abundant grey fabric enveloping his much, _much_ smaller body. 

“What the f**k have you done?”

Well from the looks of it he had quite literally just turned them both into children either that or just really, really short people with adolescent bodie-oh f**k he turned them both in children!!!!

“Ah!” Lloyd shouted, smashing his hands against his forehead as his breaths turned labored with panic. “Uh oh- How did, This is _bad_. What are we gonna do!?” At this point the green ninja could barely keep his footing as he leaned against the now taller bed frame, distress noticeable in every tremble to even Jasper who the blonde could’ve sworn had begun whining already. 

“Why the f**k are you asking me?!” The embarrassing crack and reflected panic in Morro’s youthful voice might’ve been humorous were the blonde not tethering upon the brink of passing out. “You’re the one who couldn’t keep his stupid hands off some f**king spell book. Now look where you’ve gotten us!!” 

“I...I” The green ninja failed to suffice as an argument as he could only assume ‘us’ included Jasp-hold on where was that wolf? At that exact moment, the blonde chose to recognize the sound of incessant scratching and turned to see Jasper in the midst of gnashing his fangs into one a loose wooden floor board beneath the window. 

“Jasper!” Lloyd shrieked, stumbling on his tiny legs over to the now seemingly mammoth sized animal. “Stop, we're already gonna be dismembered and buried in the backyard.” The creative euphemisms for their inevitable demise were truly unceasing. 

The wolf refused to listen however, only tightening his deathgrip on the lumber before muttering a soft growl that the blonde quickly took as a warning to step back whether that was the intention or not. 

Sharing a side eyed glance with each other. The two teens turned adolescents watched in a mixture of horror and confusion as Jasper braced his back feet in a wide stretch before suddenly yanking on the plank on with effortless vigour. 

The sound of a slick cracking noise sliced the room’s tense atmosphere in two as Jasper ripped the wooden board clean out of the floor before carelessly tossing it’s teeth marked remains at Lloyd and Morro’s feet. 

A small gasp could be heard and whether it originated from the blonde’s mouth or raven’s neither was willing to confirm. Not that that mattered because soon enough Jasper had already tore off a second flood board and then another, before finally stopping long enough to bend down and disappear beneath the remaining floor whilst haphazardly directed shots of dirt began sprinting out behind him. 

His stress momentarily forgotten, Lloyd looked back and Morro they both shared a confused shrug before one of them finally worked up the effort to gingerly step forward and peer at the mess Jasper had created. 

A pitch black hole was formed in the center of the dirt as the sound of rapid digging echoed back into the room like a steel drum. 

Suddenly the realization of what Jasper was actually doing hit the boys in unison and with another round of gasps the two were already edging their tiny bodies off the edges of the splintered floor and down onto the barren dirt. 

“Should we just….you know?”Lloyd offered gesturing with his small hands toward the narrow hole. Morro looked at him and then the hole. “Well what’s worse, potentially dying in an enclosed space or the old man?”

They began arguing over who went first.

“I’m just saying you’re smaller so there’s less of a chance of you getting stuck.” Lloyd tried to reason, much to the former ghost’s chagrin.

“I am _not_ small!” The blonde swore he saw Morro about to stomp his foot. “You’re just saying that becau-”

At that exact moment their short lived spout was sidelined when Jasper abruptly reappeared and jumped onto the dirt, circling the boys with his much larger body before all ,but shoving them in with his massive muzzle. Morro was first.

The wind master made his displeasure known by shooting an over the shoulder glance at his fellow prisoner before reluctantly giving in and shimmying his body into the hole.

In a matter of seconds he slid down the first incline into darkness.

Lloyd swallowed as his turn came. After wasting no time closing his eyes as he tightened his grip on the spell book that he only then realized was still in his grasp, Lloyd all ,but threw himself into the hole in a stunt he considered no less painful than ripping off a band aid.

The first thing the blonde registered was the heavy dirt smell invading his nostrils as he blindly crawled forward, unintentionally bumping into Morro.

“Watch it!” The former ghost shouted. Through the darkness of the underground both their faces were obscured, but even still Lloyd could feel a strange tenseness in the air as he quickly scrambled backwards into a barrier of fur he could only assume to be Jasper. 

The wolf gave another half hearted growl before pushing his muzzle up against Lloyd’s small back and moving them all forward in a bizarre trainlike symphony.

The blonde was actually quite thankful to be in the middle, with Jasper behind and Morro in front he at least knew he wasn’t getting lost in the smelly endless dark abyss. 

Not too long after that thought came and went, Lloyd finally felt his heart flutter in relief at the increasingly bright outline glowing around Morro’s hunched silhouette. 

He was even more relieved when he felt the dirt gradually begin to incline as the light peaking in became brighter and bright until finally the wind master’s form disappeared entirely into a sea of pure white light. As Lloyd quickly followed- erupting himself into the foggy grey atmosphere of the wilderness- he couldn’t help ,but be the smallest bit melodramatic in a cheesy show of throwing his arms out like he’d never seen the light of day before. 

“We did it!” The green ninja shrieked with cheerfully closed eyes as Jasper finally reared himself above as well. “We’re free!” To the blonde’s surprise instead of immediately conjuring a snarky reply, Morro simply nodded as the just now perceived trembling within his body began to subside.

The green ninja slowly lowered his arms, suddenly understanding why Morro didn’t want to go first.

Another moment of silence passed before the sound of Jasper’s exhausted panting seemed to bring everyone back to the present, prompting Morro to turn back to the massive dome shape of mountains surrounding them and the valley. 

“So, what now?” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading sorry this one was shorter ,but I just wanted to get this plot point out there because I literally cannot wait to explore child Lloyd and child Morro interactions. Till next time!


End file.
